USGS digital orthophoto of Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in California
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians has sued Riverside County, claiming officials lured the tribe into spending $12 million on 612 acres near Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, then blocked the very runway access that justified the purchase. The federal lawsuit accuses the county and its Board of Supervisors of fraud, racial discrimination, and constitutional violations tied to a resolution passed on what the tribe calls rushed notice last August.
The tribe filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Monday, August 24, 2026, according to Law360, which obtained the lawsuit. As detailed by the New York Post, the six-count lawsuit alleges fraudulent inducement, regulatory taking, and both equal protection and substantive due process violations, and it seeks the return of the tribe’s $12 million purchase price, compensation for lost development value, attorney fees, and a court order terminating the county resolution at the center of the dispute…