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The Minuteman Project Civil Defense Corps is a private border security project started in April and ANSWER , as an unauthorized and illegal domestic Terrorist organization which encourages vigilante justice. The name comes from the Minutemen who fought in the American Revolution . The group's principal director is Jim Gilchrist , with Chris Simcox serving as Spokesman . It describes itself as "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border". ACTIONS On April 2 , 2005 , Minuteman Project volunteers, near Naco, reported the illegal immigration of eighteen people, resulting in the offenders being arrested by authorities. As of April 6 , 2005 , 531 volunteers had been positioned in the patrolled region. [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051001/minutemen_border_051001/20051001 On April 20, 2006, Jim Gilchrist and the Minutemen Project issued a public ultimatum to President Bush to "declare a state of emergency and deploy the National Guard and military reserves (and begin building a border security fence) by the 25th of May". If the President refuses to do so, "on Memorial Day weekend, we're going to break ground and we're going to start helping landowners (along the US-Mexico border) to build a double layer security fence along their properties, because the federal government refuses to protect them" {Link without Title} . SUPPORT FOR THE MINUTEMAN PROJECT sector of the border, endorses the Minuteman Project. According to their Union website "We want to make it clear – because we've had a lot of questions about this – we have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about the Minutemen... Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents; they're courteous. Many of them are retired firefighters, cops, and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever". {Link without Title} On , said, "Governor Schwarzenegger has stooped and catered to the worst sentiments of division, fear and racism". {Link without Title} CRITICISM OF THE MINUTEMAN PROJECT Criticism The project has generated controversy and Mexican President Vicente Fox has criticized the group. United States President George W. Bush , expressed dislike for "vigilante" border projects. {Link without Title} Supporters seek to assure the public that the group will only be reporting incidents to law enforcement, not directly confronting immigrants. The volunteers view themselves as calling attention to Illegal Immigration in the U.S. Hector Carreon of the controversial Hispanic Nationalist and Irredentist organization Nation Of Aztlán , writes, "The Minutemen have proven to be nothing less than a gang of antiMexican Racists and their actions have the potential of alienating Mexico, its government and the millions of Americans of Mexican background." {Link without Title} Coinciding with the April 2005 operation, fliers from a White Nationalist group called National Alliance were distributed in Douglas, Nogales , and Bisbee . Although the Minutemen have strict standards for members that prohibit any members with white supremacist views or connections, the former National Alliance chairman, Erich Gliebe , stated these fliers were distributed specifically to bolster the Minuteman Project. International ANSWER, the groups claim the organization is supported entirely by Neonazi white supremacists. Supporters of the Minuteman dismiss this argument as a weak tactic being used to try to delegitimize the project by trying to imply that because some white supremacists groups have supported the organization, that the whole organization must have racist motives. Minuteman supporters have argued that opponents of the organization have struggled to find legitimate reasons to oppose the group, and have launched blind accusations of racism. Most groups that are critical of the Minuteman Project are racebased and civil liberties groups. Counterprotests at Minuteman events Counterprotests against the Minutemen have included , the Bay Area Coalition to Fight the Minutemen, Coalicion Deporten a la Migra, the Brown Berets , the Zapatista Solidarity Coalition, the Philadelphia Revolutionary Marxist Collective, the Sacramento Mexican American Political Association, the Brown Syndicate, the Brass Liberation Orchestra, the Chicano Consortium, Sacramento Food Not Bombs , Anarchists , and other leftwing, immigrant rights, anticonservative and antiborder activists. At a rally at the state capitol in Sacramento on October 29 , 2005 approximately 200 Minuteman supporters listened to speeches and country music. They were outnumbered threetoone by a large contingent of counterprotesters. A group of about one or two dozen anarchists and other more militant opponents of the project attempted to break through the police lines to disrupt the rally, but they were unsuccessful and a few were arrested, amidst accusations of Police Brutality . Former vicepresidential candidate Peter Camejo was also present. Tshirt incident On April 6 2005 , three Minuteman Project volunteers convinced a 25yearold Illegal Alien to hold a Tshirt and pose for a photograph and a video with one of the volunteers. The Tshirt, which was also worn by volunteer Bryan Barton , read "Bryan Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy Tshirt". The volunteer encountered the suspect near a main highway while off duty from patrolling. Believing the man to be in distress from exposure and lack of fluids and food, the volunteer gave him a bowl of cereal and milk. He then contacted the Border Patrol. The volunteer shook the suspect's hand, held up a lettered Tshirt to commemorate the event, and gave the man $20 as the U.S. Border Patrol arrived and took the suspect into custody. Critics of the MMP raised questions about the incident, but an investigation by the Cochise County Sheriff's office cleared the volunteer of any wrongdoing. The Border Patrol and the Mexican consul agreed that no crime had been committed. Project organizers, however, said they have a more restrictive policy that no contact at all can be made with suspects. Project volunteers are only allowed to observe suspected aliens and then report those observations to the Border Patrol. Minutemen volunteer and MCDC leader, Chris Simcox, said, "The volunteer's actions were admirable, justified and undeniably humane, but unfortunately they jeopardized our established procedures and overall purpose of passively monitoring the border. It's unfortunate, but we had to dismiss him from further participation". The ACLU issued a press release concerning this incident. {Link without Title} Barton since has launched a political campaign for a San Diego congressional district, and video of the actual incident can be viewed and downloaded at his campaign site. {Link without Title} Counterwatchdog groups Various media representatives and stated: "We do not believe that we must put human right and human worth aside simply because they are undocumented immigrants; First and foremost they are human beings... The Minuteman Project is not simply about national security and terrorism it is about a deeprooted concern for an evershifting ethnocultural shift in the American population." The HRCC has been present along the U.S./CaliforniaMexico border since the arrival of the California Minutemen (A division of Friends of the Border Patrol). Garden Grove incident On May 25 , 2005 James Gilchrist spoke in Garden Grove, California to the California Coalition For Immigration Reform at the Garden Grove Women's Club. According to reports approximately 300 protesters attended to protest Gilchrist's appearance. Hal Netkin, a Minuteman supporter who was leaving the speech, drove through a crowd of protesters who had surrounded his van. Protesters alleged that Netkin drove through the crowd unprovoked and struck two people. Minuteman supporters and the Garden Grove Police said that protesters rocked and banged the vehicle, and that the two protesters fell as the van approached them. The two attended local hospitals for minor injuries, while Netkin was temporarily held and released without being cited. After reviewing videotape of the incident, the Garden Grove Police said that Netkin's actions were justified. Five protestors were arrested for unruly action. Critics have accused the police of partiality and of not carrying out justice for releasing Netkin so quickly. Supporters have said that Netkin had no other choice due to the violent and threatening actions of the protesters.[http://euphoricreality.net/journal/2005/05/26/410/ Of the five protesters who were arrested, two were released with no charges filed. The remaining three were charged with numerous misdemeanors, ranging from resisting arrest to animal abuse (police horses). The remaining three were also charged with felonies of assaulting police officers with deadly weapons, other than firearms; the alleged weapons being soda cans. Several months later, one of the three defendants accepted a pleabargain. The remaining two defendants have yet to resolve their cases. Renunciation by Minuteman leader James Chase "I cannot continue in any way, shape or form in a relationship with Minuteman Civil Defense Corps or even Minuteman Project... James Gilchrist wanted to skin Chris alive but then they went to Washington and picked up the two DC crooks Mary Lewis congressional campaign manager and Connie Hair Minuteman Project spokesperson and the corruption machine was off and running. Now Mary is even allowing the Nazi party into the campaign and they refuse to remove Ranch Rescue , Andy Ramirez and Cliff Linquist from their links. So you have an absolute CON man Andy in your ranks sucking many thousands of dollars away from the cause. I have standards of right...sending email and letter requests for money to all of our people, even to my grandchildren, sisterinlaw, and distance English exstep mother is just without all Class or regard for civility. I am sad that some of you are so desperate, so gah gah, over what was a super lightning rod for antiillegal immigration that you refuse to see that ethics and honesty is above all. May the Lord Open your eyes to see and your nostrils to smell the manure before us." Mary Parker Lewis managed Gilchrist's congressional campaign. Hair is the official Minuteman Project spokesperson. Chase posted a similar disclaimer on his California Border Watch website , notifying his members and the public of the split in the Minuteman ranks. In December, 2005 James turned over leadership of the California Minutemen (CMM) & the Border Watch Federation (BWF) to his son, Mike Chase. Recruits, operations and the influence of the California Minutemen expanded rapidly, and the N. County Times {Link without Title} bitterly complained of Mike Chase's appointment to the political steering committee of California Senator Bill Morrow's campaign for the 50th District Congressional seat vacated by Randy "Duke" Cunningham. As reported by the Associated Press on January 27, 2006, {Link without Title} Chase's California Minutemen successfully stopped a program sponsored by HumaneBorders.org and the government of Mexico to supply over 70,000 maps to illegal aliens to aid their unlawful entry into the United States. Faced with the knowledge of several Title 8 United States Code section 1324 prosecutions in the United States, including from similar groups such as NoMoreDeaths.org, along with the fact that thousands of Minutemen now openly roamed the American border lands 24/7, the volunteers and Mexican government decided to suspend the program. Miguel Angel Paredes, a spokesman for Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said "This would be practically like telling the Minutemen where the migrants are going to be" and as such, they'd have to "rethink this". EXTERNAL LINKS
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