Interior Sec. Haaland's daughter a high-ranking member of radical group that breached dept.

The group sought the bureau's abolition, the restoration of indigenous land, and a restructuring of Washington's arrangements with native tribes.

By Ben Whedon

Published: February 10, 2023 5:01pm

Updated: February 10, 2023 5:20pm

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland's daughter is a high-ranking member of an environmental group that stormed the Interior Department in Washington, D.C. and clashed with police.

The Pueblo Action Alliance, a radical environmental group, lists Somah Haaland, 28, as its media organizer, according to the Daily Mail. The group gained notoriety during a mid-October 2021 incident in which protesters pushed past police to enter the building and take over the space belonging to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The group sought the bureau's abolition, the restoration of indigenous land, and a restructuring of Washington's arrangements with native tribes, according to Newsweek. The Mail noted that the protest had been dubbed "reminiscent of January 6."

Multiple protesters were arrested in the aftermath of the episode and at least one police officer was hospitalized.

Deb Haaland held her post at the time, but was not present in the building. Her daughter has sought to distance herself from the interior secretary, posting on Instagram at the time of the intrusion that "I have my own life and I am politically involved my own way that is separate from my mother. I have no influence or control over anything that she does," per the Mail.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.