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The anti-illegal immigration Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and its political action committee have made it clear that they have not endorsed a presidential candidate, and if they do it will not be former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist created a stir in the anti-illegal immigration community on Tuesday by endorsing Huckabee, who has surged to the lead in the polls in Iowa but has concerned some illegal immigration hard-liners with his past stances on the issue. Chris Simcox, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps head who originally founded the Minuteman Project with Gilchrist, said in a...

The surprise decision this week by Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist to endorse the candidacy of Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has a drawn sharp reaction from within the Minuteman movement, which split two years ago over funding. Chris Simcox, founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense League called Gilchrist's endorsement of Huckabee "unwise." "Jim Gilchrist speaks only for himself – not for my organization and not for the Minuteman movement," Simcox told WND. Gilchrist's The Minuteman Project and Simcox's Minuteman Civil Defense League are completely separate organizations of citizen volunteers seeking to curb illegal immigration. "What raised everybody's...

No National Minuteman Group has endorsed Mike Huckabee. One individual Minuteman has personally endorsed him. For the sake of clarity, it is important to note that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), the nation's largest Minuteman organization, is a 501(C)4 non-profit organization and cannot and does not endorse any candidate for public office. MCDC is not associated with Mr. Jim Gilchrist, who today endorsed Mike Huckabee for president. Jim Gilchrist’s erstwhile Minuteman Project is itself an organization which by its own representations as a non-profit civic group cannot legally endorse candidates. It does not have any volunteers who observe illegal...

Minuteman co-founder James Gilchrist's endorsement of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has spurred a backlash among illegal-immigration opponents who say the former Arkansas governor is soft on immigration enforcement. "Mike Huckabee is pro-amnesty and favors a path to citizenship for illegal aliens currently in the U.S. that would require a lifting of current penalties," said William Gheen, whose 25,000-member Americans for Legal Immigration sent mass mailings yesterday to more than 300 pro-enforcement groups.

PHOENIX — Talk about strange bedfellows. Consider Barry Goldwater Jr.; Minutemen founder Chris Simcox; Democratic State Rep. Pete Rios; and Carlos Flores, head of the Mexican General Consulate, together at a table to talk immigration over sandwiches. And earlier in the day, Simcox, a controversial figure who is credited and criticized for being the first to organize a citizen border patrol, made what some found to be stunning statements: He supports public education for the children of illegal immigrants and sees the fix as not just an issue of enforcement, but of reforming Mexico's economy and basing the number of...

BSU College Republicans present racially-charged lecture. He came. He spoke. He nearly started a riot. Approximately 200 hundred people filled the Lookout Room at the Boise State Student Union Building Tuesday evening to hear Minute Men Civil Defense Corps founder Chris Simcox speak. Simcox was invited by the Boise State College Republicans to speak about his organization and its view on securing our borders. More than half of the audience wore red shirts symbolizing their protest to Simcox' message. "We want to let him know that his hate speech is not welcome," Lucia Venegas said. Venegas, a Boise State graduate...

It was supposed to be 14 feet high and topped with razor wire. It was also supposed to send a message to Washington that if the government wouldn't seal off the southern border, volunteers could. Almost two years later, the reality is a five-strand barbed-wire barrier that ranchers dismiss as a mere cattle fence.

A few months ago, mostly just gardeners and Minutemen knew the woman who’s been at the center of Kansas City’s biggest controversy. ....Funkhouser's appointment alienated the Hispanic community and many allied organizations that call the Minutemen a vigilante group....[snip] [snip]..Semler acknowledges that she wasn't exactly forthright with Funkhouser when, before he appointed her to the parks board, he asked whether she was a member of other organizations. She says she thought Funkhouser was interested in groups like the Clay County Rose Society and the neighborhood association, where she held a leadership position. Her membership in the Minutemen, she says, just...

Kansas City has landed a new convention — but it’s one that some leaders don’t want. Several city officials were angered Friday by the announcement that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps will hold its first-ever national convention in Kansas City to support a member embroiled in controversy. The two-day event is scheduled for early December and expected to attract about 300 people. “I am concerned our city is looking like the hotbed of right-wing vigilante groups, and that’s not how I want Kansas City to be portrayed,” Councilwoman Jan Marcason said. Correcting such misconceptions is part of the purpose of...

Time Proves Unkind To Minuteman MovementBy ESMERALDA BERMUDEZ   Anti-immigration activist Mike Forest waves signs at passing traffic while monitoring a day labor site in Cornelius, Ore., before he was tossed out of the Minuteman organization. (Photo by Olivia Bucks)     [Portland, OR] -- Packaged as a patriotic crusade in 2005 to safeguard the United States' borders and pressure legislators to bear down on illegal immigration, the Minuteman movement saw chapters spring up in nearly every state.The message was clear, and it spread quickly: If you are here illegally, you don't deserve what America has to offer.Abruptly in May,...

Several former Minuteman leaders, angry over the organization's failure to account for hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in donations, have formed their own border-vigil operation. The Patriots' Border Alliance, led by Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leaders fired in May for raising questions about the group's finances, says it will carry on the mission of fighting illegal entry into the U.S. with volunteers who have "chosen to stand down" from MCDC. In a letter to Minuteman volunteers, former MCDC Deputy Executive Director Bob Wright said none of those terminated by MCDC President Chris Simcox "ever had their dedication questioned...

An Arizona man who donated $100,000 to help the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border wants his money back. James Campbell, a retired home builder who took out a $120,000 loan on his house to help build one mile of "Israel-style" fencing on private border land, is suing MCDC and its president, Chris Simcox, for fraud and breach of contract -- saying there has been no work on the double-security fence he was promised. The lawsuit was filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. Mr. Campbell, an Air Force veteran, said he...

SCOTTSDALE – With Congress on the brink of passing the biggest amnesty bill ever along with HR 1999, which would allocate $5 million in 2008 and $10 million per year thereafter to the National Council of La Raza to help promote their racist agenda, could things get any worse? They can if you´re Chris Simcox, president and founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC).     MCDC state directors and national leaders tried to meet with Simcox to address issues and concerns they claimed remained unresolved.     In a letter to Simcox, dated May 8, Bob Wright, New Mexico State Director, and...

BISBEE — A man who mortgaged his home in order to help the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps build border fencing on private land in Cochise County is suing the group and its president, Chris Simcox, for fraud and breach of contract. In a complaint filed May 22 in Maricopa County Superior Court, Jim Campbell, a retired homebuilder and Air Force veteran from Fountain Hills, accused Simcox and the MCDC of falsely promising to build a multi-layered Israeli-style security barrier on the Palominas ranch of John and Jack Ladd. Campbell alleges that, after hearing the MCDC publicize the plan in April...

The top leaders of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps have been terminated by the group's president, Chris Simcox, for requesting a meeting to discuss a lack of financial accountability by the organization's leadership. The purge was ordered by Mr. Simcox, who came under fire last year over questions about how much money the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) had raised and where it had gone, and included several top lieutenants, most of whom have been with the organization since its April 2005 founding......[snip][snip].. The committee also asked for a "full explanation" of the relationship between MCDC and other groups, including...

BISBEE — At least two state-level officers of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps have been expelled from the civilian border-watch group after raising questions about its executive leadership, particularly that of MCDC President Chris Simcox. According to internal documents that surfaced on the Internet this week, 18 state MCDC leaders sent a memo on May 8 to Simcox, Vice President Carmen Mercer and Executive Director Al Garza asking them to attend a meeting in Phoenix to address perceived problems, including a lack of financial accountability and Simcox’s leadership style. In a memo dated May 14, Simcox responded by denouncing the...

Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to Hold the First Meeting of New Chapter Meeting Day, Time and Location Johnnie's NY Pizza 1444 3rd Street Promenade Santa Monica, California Monday, May 21st - 7:00 PM (punctual) Bring your MCDC membership card (IMPORTANT) Membership Applications Available at the Meeting Free Parking at the GALLERIA corner of Broadway and 3 rd Street Promenade (This corner is about 50 steps from the restaurant location on 3 rd Street Promenade) http://www.laminutemen.com/

Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist dropped the remaining portions of his lawsuit against fellow anti-illegal immigration activists today, bringing to a conclusion a legal battle for control of the group. Gilchrist has set up a new organization – the Jim Gilchrist Minuteman Project Inc. – and said he is ready to move ahead with his cause. "I am delighted that rather than spending the next two years in litigation and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of (activists') contributions for attorney fees … I can focus full time on the critical issue of illegal immigration," Gilchrist said in a press...

Minuteman Announces Issuance of Preliminary Injunction And Dismissal of Action The Orange County Superior Court has issued a preliminary injunction that orders former Minuteman Project, Inc. advisory board members Marvin Stewart, Deborah Courtney-Peterson and Barbara Coe to stop diverting or spending Minuteman funds. With this much need relief in hand, Minuteman. announces that it has dismissed its action without prejudice to refile the lawsuit if further misconduct occurs. Minuteman Founder and President Jim Gilchrist stated: “I am delighted that rather than spending the next 2 years in litigation and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of contributions for Attorney fees...