Posted on 12/11/2003 9:59:20 AM PST by AZHSer
TUCSON -- Sierra Vista businessman and Douglas area rancher Roger Barnett is being accused of impersonating a federal law officer while detaining illegal immigrants in an October incident, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Border Action Network and Donald J. Mackenzie.
Barnett's wife and brother also are named in the suit, which was filed on International Human Rights Day.
Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network, said the Barnetts have a pattern of stopping and harassing people who have crossed the border illegally and have boasted about the number of people they have detained.
While Barnett said he will make no specific comments about the pending lawsuit until he talks with an attorney, he did say that the suit is "full of inaccurate statements." As an example, the suit lists his brother's name as Ralph, when it is Donald, Barnett said.
"I have not been officially served a copy of the complaint," he said.
He has seen a copy of the lawsuit.
Allen said the specific incident that led to the civil lawsuit that was filed with the U.S. District Court in Tucson was an incident on land Donald Mackenzie manages near Douglas. She said the lawsuit is the beginning of the network and others to rid the area of what she called "vigilante groups."
While groups headed by Tombstone newspaper owner Chris Simcox, Glenn Spencer's American Border Patrol and Texas-based Ranch Rescue are not part of the suit, the network is looking for information from migrants and others that can be used against them in the future, she said.
The network is following Simcox's and Spencer's charges concerning weapons,Allen said. Simcox has been accused of carrying a concealed weapon on U.S. National Parks Service land in Cochise County. Spencer was charged in regards to firing a weapon in a Sierra Vista residential neighborhood.
Allen said the Barnetts' alleged activities have made them a target of the group's lawsuit.
She added that actions taken by people such as the Barnetts are harming those who are crossing the border and who are not committing any felonies. A person who is apprehended is usually charged with a misdemeanor. She said that does not give the Barnetts any right to stop and detain them and turn them over to the U.S Border Patrol.
Roger Barnett has never denied he has detained illegal immigrants.
His 22,000-acre ranch two miles from the U.S.-Mexico border is a known path of those who enter the U.S. illegally. He owns 7,000 acres of land, and the rest he leases from the State Land Department.
In a 2002 article in the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review, Roger Barnett said he has put ground sensors on his ranch. When the sensors go off he; his wife, Barbara; his brother, Donald; and others track the intruders sometimes successfully and other times without finding them.
He estimated he has apprehended thousands of illegal immigrants and turned them over to federal officials.
Unabashed, Roger Barnett has said many times in the past that he will continue looking for illegal immigrants who trespass on his property, will help his neighbors if asked and will detain groups he finds on public lands and highways.
'Crossed the line'
Mackenzie said that what Barnett does on his own land is his business, but "he crossed the line."
The line was allegedly crossed on Oct. 11 when the Barnetts came onto land Mackenzie manages for the Summerland Monastery Inc. The organization, of which Mackenzie is a vice president, has 1,240 acres of land about 16 miles from the border.
About 1 p.m. that day, Mackenzie said he came across a group of about 30 illegal immigrants at a well on the church's property and saw they were frightened.
He said he then met the Barnetts. To him, they looked as if they were federal law enforcement officials, specifically U.S. Border Patrol agents. According to the lawsuit, Donald Barnett wore a baseball cap with the emblem "U.S. Border Patrol."
As part of the church's humanitarian mission, those who cross the border seeking jobs are not turned in to the federal government, Mackenzie said. If the people were drug smugglers, officials would be called.
Water jugs are placed at the well on the church property so the migrants can quench their thirst and refill their water bottles.
The Vietnam War veteran, who has lived in Cochise County seven years, said he is part of the lawsuit as an individual and the church is not a party to the suit.
As for the October incident in which he met the Barnetts, he said he became a little frightened of them and can understand why the "undocumented aliens" are scared.
All the Barnetts were armed during the October meeting. Even though Mackenzie has a weapon "more to kill rattlesnakes," he said he did not want to have any kind of confrontation. There are too many people doing things like the Barnetts who go around with guns, he said.
"We don't need another gunfight at the OK Corral," Mackenzie said.
Even though he later learned the Barnetts were not federal law enforcement officers, Mackenzie said it took a while for him to approach the network that started the lawsuit.
The lawsuit
The suit filed by Jesœs R. Romo V/jar of Tucson seeks to have the court order the Barnetts from continuing to impersonate federal officers, to stop detaining and frightening undocumented persons and their supporters and to cease trespassing on the property Mackenzie manages. Unstated costs, including attorney fees, are being sought from the Barnetts, too.
The lawsuit also states that there were concerns about the lack of investigations into Roger Barnett's action by the Cochise County sheriff and attorney.
The Sheriff's Department and the Attorney's Office "have consistently looked the other way regarding the Barnetts' misconduct," the suit states. If facts can be found to support the allegation, the county may be included in the suit.
Carol Capas, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, and Cochise County Attorney Chris Roll vehemently denied that the Barnetts have ever been given any special consideration. That includes allegations against any citizens group or individual patrolling the border.
Capas said every time a private citizen such as Roger Barnett apprehends an illegal immigrant, the U.S. Border Patrol is required to inform the sheriff's office, which in turn starts an investigation.
"Each report is thorough and includes detailed information from interviews with the UDAs (undocumented aliens) regarding their treatment or mistreatment," she said.
Regardless if there is allegations of criminal misconduct or not, the information is sent to the county Attorney's Office for review, Capas added.
Reports are frequently written about Roger Barnett because of his border activities. But to Capas' knowledge, none of the investigations have come to a conclusion that he allegedly abused, threatened or intimidated any illegal immigrant.
The most recent report involving Roger Barnett was filed on Nov. 30 when he apprehended 20 illegal immigrants at Castle Dome near Douglas, she said. There were no indications he broke a law.
"There is no special treatment when handling reports about citizen border apprehensions or Mr. Barnett," Capas said. "We follow protocol every time."
Roll said his department and the sheriff's office are handling such allegations properly. Standards for charging a person with a crime do not fluctuate depending on that person or the victim's nationality, he said.
"The notion that this is favoritism (for Roger Barnett) because no charges have ever been filed is simply wrong," he said. "No charges have ever been filed because to my knowledge no crime has ever been committed."
A publicist for Paul Charlton, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, said he had received a copy of the lawsuit filed Wednesday, was reviewing it and would take "appropriate action."
Mackenzie contends that when he came upon the detained illegal immigrants and the Barnetts on Oct. 11, what they were doing was against the law and was not properly investigated by the Sheriff's Department or Attorney's Office. Roger Barnett had begun tracking the migrants on his property and continued on to the church's land where he was trespassing, Mackenzie said.
HERALD/REVIEW reporter Nate Searing and Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services contributed to this report. Senior Reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Copyright © 2003Sierra Vista Herald.
MacKenzie just admitted to aiding and abetting illegals by allowing them to cross his property and by giving them supplies (water). He should be charged with this crime.
As part of the church's humanitarian mission, those who cross the border seeking jobs are not turned in to the federal government, Mackenzie said. If the people were drug smugglers, officials would be called.
Water jugs are placed at the well on the church property so the migrants (above they were called illigal immigrants) can quench their thirst and refill their water bottles.
The Vietnam War veteran, who has lived in Cochise County seven years, said he is part of the lawsuit as an individual and the church is not a party to the suit.
What is wrong with this picture?
What U.S. citizen is breaking the law in this story? Not Mr. Barnett, but Mr. McKenzie who is aiding and abetting foreigners breaking U.S. immigration laws.
And Mr. McKenzie is a Vietnam War veteran. Did not fight in that war to protect U.S. sovereignity from the expansive communist? Now he will not help protect U.S. sovereignity from an influx of illegal immigrants?
As a matter of fact, citizen's do have the ability to enforce the laws of their state and the U.S. Law Enforcement is just the paid spinoff of the old nightwatch system that was in use that we (USA) adopted from England.
Some people didn't want to patrol when it came time for them to work the nightwatch, so they hired others to work for them. These later became paid law enforcement.
Anyone 18 or over can make a citizen's arrest and turn the culprit over to the appropriate law enforcement agency. At most, the worst case Barnett could face is a trespassing charge. And if the land isn't appropriately posted against trespassers, then there's no case against him.
I wish the court system on the local levels was handled as strictly as Federal courtrooms are. This lawsuit wouldn't get out of the judges chambers in federal court.
It sounds like another tactic to drain the resources of anti-illegal people by harrassing them with these kinds of lawsuits.
Mackenzie contends that when he came upon the detained illegal immigrants and the Barnetts on Oct. 11, what they were doing was against the law . . .
And aiding and abetting illegals is WITHIN the law? Another example of selective outrage.
Roger Barnett had begun tracking the migrants on his property and continued on to the church's land where he was trespassing, Mackenzie said.
So, this whole lawsuit is based on what this bozo said he saw? Got pictures? If not, let's hope the Arizona attorney's "appropriate action" means the circular file.
Since Jennifer Allan is on record as saying she planned to go after the Barnetts specifically, and since the BAN and Mackenzie's so-called church are leftist (read: wacko) organizations, your wish is probably going to be fulfilled. It always has been in the past, even when the FBI investigated Roger.
Yeah, me too! I doubt that they're going to need financial help. Someone who owns 7,000 acres of ranchland and a successful business, and is a former deputy sheriff probably knows and can afford a good attorney.
However, if he needs help, we'll let y'all know!
Poor deluded Jennifer....since when do you have to commit a felony before John Law comes to make life difficult for you?
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