Posted on 09/18/2005 9:23:33 PM PDT by MarIboro
In San Diego, deployment shut down over concern for safety for volunteers
A group called Gente Unita confronted volunteer border watchers in San Diego yesterday with obscenities, shoving and U.S. flag desecration, causing Friends of the Border to abandon a planned deployment and an apology by the group's leader for not having police protection for senior citizen and other members of the group.
Andy Ramirez, chairman of Friends of the Border, said he was concerned about the safety of his volunteers.
"Safety comes first, even before our primary mission to help the Border Patrol secure our border with Mexico," he said.
One eyewitness told WND he saw members of Gente Unita assault four members of the border-watch group, including organizer Capt. Drew Johnson, a retired Navy officer.
"Gente Unita stole an American flag, ripped from its staff and trampled it, as captured on film by cameraman Larry Morgan," said Roger Canfield, a former Republican congressional candidate.
The confrontation began when border volunteers were checking in at a card table for a training session, Canfield said.
"Shouting obscenities and slogans, Gente Unita shoved, jostled, and twice pushed their way into the center in 32 minutes of disorderly conduct as also witnessed by center staff and others at the center to take a state notary exam," Canfield said.
One man allegedly shouted, "We''re going to shut you the f--- down," in the face of several volunteers.
Others, he said, broke off from the group to attack the check-in table located, under a flag pole. While the larger group was charging the entryway of the Scottish Rite Center, two others grabbed a U.S. flag on a wooden staff, a confidential list of names, knocked over the table, knocked a hat off Johnson and roughed up volunteer Beverly Crawford.
The border watchers called 9-1-1 when the confrontation began, but San Diego police did not respond for about 20 minutes, according to Canfield.
Two members of Gente Unita were taken into custody, but were released shortly thereafter.
The Gente Unita activists arrived on the scene dressed in red and black, according to witnesses.
"We did not cross over the border, their border crossed over us," they chanted.
One of the protesters threatened Ramirez with a future "firefight" along the border.
Ramirez said his training session emphasized no conflict, no arms and no provocation. The border watchers, like their allies in the Minuteman organization, seek to monitor the border and report illegal activity directly to U.S. Border Patrol officials.
He apologized to his volunteers yesterday for not notifying law enforcement officials in advance of the training session.
"For this, I apologize to each of our volunteers who were personally assaulted, especially the captain, who is a man that everyone in my organization respects immensely, and cares about," Ramirez said. "No veteran of the U.S. armed services should ever have to be confronted by what several cowards did to our fellow citizen and friend. I also apologize to the San Diego Police Department."
He described the Gente Unita group as an "angry mob."
"An American flag was immediately desecrated by being torn away from our volunteers, off its pole, and onto the ground where it was stomped on and kicked," he said. "This vile act was committed by an individual who had concealed his face from cameras. We do have video footage, which was released by the volunteer to the media and shown in San Diego on their television newscasts. Individuals on tape were also assaulting and battering a number of senior citizens."
He added: "The protesters stalked our volunteers around the site, screamed in their ears, were cursed at, physically assaulted and battered, trespassed on private property, and participated in crimes of hate and acts of terrorism."
No, according to authorities the "protesters" are exercising their right of free speech.This is not the first time they have resorted to violence, a fact that law enforcement is well aware of.
There is an international group on yahoo. I translated it. Scary stuff. I don't want to link it though.
Physical violence isn't a right of free speech though.
I don't care how they act. I do care that the police only seem act against group that aren't pc. Don't the police know they are not pc. Most of the border watch groups are trying to help the police.
So they are American citizens not Mexicans crossing the border?
Of course it isn't. It's just PC in action.
Most of these criminal protesters are American citizens.
For your safety you should care IMO. In future these guys will have security but ask the guy here. Did they even think they might have needed it before this? Americans tend to think the best of people and it bites us at times.
We expected no-violent "crazies" but nobody expected the depth to which these criminals have demonstrated they will descend.
Thank you so much for the info you provided. This has been an eye opener to me.
Click on *BP News* on the left side of the page.
There are articles from several different places including UK, India, etc.
The articles are basically the same as posted here, but you can see that our border problems are international news.
NBPC stands for National Border Patrol Council. There many good articles to read related to the border from a BP Agents viewpoint. Well worth a visit.
Sorry, I haven't learned how to post a link yet. Just cut and paste.
That's what I meant. We don't expect people to act like this. Did yall get your personal information list back?
As are those that refuse to secure our borders.
I was not present at the disturbance. I received an email from a leader in our group containing some the info I posted here. I don't know whether the list was recovered.
Well, yall did good. They want you to get violent. They are doing everything they can to provoke.
You are most welcome.
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