Free Republic

Farmer, Patriots get patrol help from Minutemen BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, Sun Staff Writer --See Image(s) Below-- Published on: September 17, 2005 Eight members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of Tombstone came to Yuma for the first time this weekend to patrol an area near the border with the Yuma Patriots, where a local farmer had asked for help with an increasing number of illegal immigrants trampling his crops. The volunteer patrol groups, who were unarmed, helped the Border Patrol capture two groups of illegal immigrants Friday night, and ran into a snag when the Cocopah police told them they...

A volunteer civilian border group calling themselves the Yuma Patriots conducted their first patrol on Sunday and their leader, Flash Sharrar, said he intends to conduct another patrol this coming weekend.Federal authorities said they are concerned about the safety of these civilians and said patrols along the U.S.-Mexico border are best left to trained professionals.Sharrar, 50, of Yuma, who organized the group, said: "We intend to have more patrols. I intend to decrease the border crossings as much as possible.Two weeks ago, another such volunteer group calling themselves the Minuteman Project began a monthlong initiative in the southeast portion of...