Engineers from the Texas National Guard construct concertina wire barriers on the bank of the Rio Grande in support of Operation Lone Star on May 23, 2023. (Texas National Guard photo by Spc. Savion Johnson)
A Texas National Guard soldier, deployed in support of the state’s mission at the border with Mexico, faces human smuggling charges after leading police on a high-speed car chase, state law enforcement officials said.
Army Spc. Savion Johnson faces charges of evading arrest, smuggling of persons and unlawful carry of a weapon after his March 31 arrest in Brackettville, Texas, the state’s Department of Public Safety said Friday. The evading arrest and smuggling charges are felonies in Texas.
Johnson, 26, is accused of turning his vehicle around near a Border Patrol checkpoint and initiating a high-speed car chase with state police. He stopped briefly during the chase to let a young Hispanic man out his vehicle, the Texas Tribune reported, citing court records. The chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph and spanned some 15 miles, and finally ended after Johnson’s vehicle drove over spike strips set up by law enforcement, according to the Texas Tribune.
Deputies from the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the apprehension, a spokesman for the county said Friday. Sherrif Brad Coe told CNN that Johnson’s military uniform and helmet were found in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
Johnson was on active duty in support of Operation Lone Star, the state-led law enforcement mission aimed at curbing illegal activity between legal ports of entry across the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, according to state law enforcement officials.
The Texas Military Department, which oversees the state’s Army and Air Force National Guard, declined to comment on Johnson’s status, citing state law.
Texas law for releasing information about Guard members is one of the strictest in the country. It prohibits releasing a service member’s name, rank, job title, awards and confirmation that the person is serving on a state or federal mission. When lawmakers debated the law’s passage in 2015, troops were deployed at the border and lawmakers said releasing the information made troops vulnerable to Mexican drug cartels.
Army Spc. Savion Johnson, 26, faces charges of evading arrest, smuggling of persons and unlawful carry of a weapon after his March 31, 2024, arrest in Brackettville, Texas, the state’s Department of Public Safety said. (Kinney County Sheriff’s Office)
The federal National Guard Bureau also declined comment on Johnson, however a defense official confirmed Johnson was supporting the Texas mission and not a separate federal border operation.
Johnson appears to have been working as a photographer for the Texas Army National Guard. Several photos showing Guard troops supporting Operation Lone Star last year are credited “Texas National Guard photo by Spc. Savion Johnson” on the Pentagon’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued a statement accusing Johnson of being “a traitor and criminal” if the allegations against him are proven true.
“We have zero tolerance for Texans who violate laws that directly contradict the mission we are seeking to achieve,” Abbott said. “The accused’s illegal smuggling may subject him to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least 10 years. He deserves more.”
Johnson is not the first service member facing accusations of human smuggling in Texas. In July 2023, an active-duty soldier and a Louisiana National Guard member were arrested and accused of smuggling migrants in separate incidents in Kinney County, officials said at the time.
Stars and Stripes reporter Rose L. Thayer contributed to this report.
