So much for being "Patriotic Americans patrolling our borders"

June 13, 2009 6:13 PM

Three Minutemen arrested for robbery/slaying of a Mexican-American and his nine-year-old daughter. Three members of the anti-immigration, independent border-policing Minutemen group, have been charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, in a plan to rob a home in order to finance their organization. Raul Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia, 9, were killed when the group forced their way into the home. The child's mother traded gunfire with the attackers. She survived but remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Pima County officials said the intruders had been looking for the couple's other daughter to shoot her, too, but she wasn't home.
posted by markkraft (37 comments total)

How else did anyone expect this sort of vigilanteism would end sooner or later?
posted by rollbiz at 6:19 PM on June 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

If these terrorists called themselves 'Muslim' rather than 'Minutemen', this story would generate a whole 'nother level of response.
posted by grounded at 6:21 PM on June 13, 2009

Oh, come on. Surely these guys were just pro-life, gun-owning veterans who like smaller government and who believe America should secure our borders against invasion from illegal aliens. I'm certain this is all just a cunning plan on the part of our mexican-lovin' secret Muslim President.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:23 PM on June 13, 2009

How incredibly, incredibly horrible. I think I'm just going to dwell on the awfulness of this for a moment, before I start thinking about the larger context.
posted by deliquescent at 6:24 PM on June 13, 2009

Rush Limbaugh will figure out a way to call them left-wing terrorists, like he did with Von Brunn.
posted by stavrogin at 6:25 PM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Is this more right-wing terror or simply plain old for-profit criminality?
posted by delmoi at 6:25 PM on June 13, 2009

I would say something along the lines of right-wing extremism blah blah blah, but that would just provoke another billion comment flame fest.

Frankly, it isn't the Muslims or immigrants we have to worry about, but paranoid white men.
posted by edgeways at 6:26 PM on June 13, 2009

Good thing this guy wanted to distance himself from the Minutemen or it might hurt his chances against John McCain.
posted by birdherder at 6:26 PM on June 13, 2009

Well that's just charming. Pat yourself on the back, Lou Dobbs.
posted by Artw at 6:26 PM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Woah, the ringleader was a woman? That's pretty unusual.
posted by delmoi at 6:27 PM on June 13, 2009

Also, it really disturbs me how these fucking tards took over the name of a completely awesome California punk-funk band.

By the way, is racism mental illness?
posted by dunkadunc at 6:27 PM on June 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

Is this more right-wing terror or simply plain old for-profit criminality?

Since the robbery was allegedly planned to boost funding for their Minuteman chapter, I'm going to go with the former.
posted by rollbiz at 6:27 PM on June 13, 2009

Frankly, it isn't the Muslims or immigrants we have to worry about, but paranoid white men.

Or in this case, a women.
posted by delmoi at 6:28 PM on June 13, 2009

Three Minutemen? C'mon, they've been fIREHOSE since D. Boon died.
posted by klangklangston at 6:28 PM on June 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

Hmm. In the light of Alanis Morissette's 'My Humps' and Ben Folds' 'Bitches Ain't Shit' and whatnot, that fIREHOSE cover of 'Sophisticated Bitch' somehow doesn't seem as appealing.
posted by box at 6:30 PM on June 13, 2009

Now these motherfuckers we can tie to the right wing media; Hannity, Dobbs, I'm looking at you.
posted by fourcheesemac at 6:32 PM on June 13, 2009

I need to cool down. You can probably figure out how much my disgust at right-wingers has been fueled in the last few days.

I am about this close from outright cheering every time another Limbaugh-lackey gets caught in some dumb act or dies through their own stupidity. Schadenfreude is awesome.

The racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-secularism in this country is ridiculous, and frankly, I am intensely afraid of anyone so irrational as to have any of those prejudices.

It's always the well-intentioned morons you have to watch out for.
posted by kldickson at 6:33 PM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

.
.
Bastards.
posted by Decimask at 6:33 PM on June 13, 2009

'Well-intentioned', of course, is up to the person with whatever intentions they have.
posted by kldickson at 6:34 PM on June 13, 2009

Please don't associate Mike Watt, George Hurley, D.Boon and/or Ed fROMOHIO with these goat-fucking cracker bastards. Thank you for your cooperation on this important matter.
posted by DecemberBoy at 6:35 PM on June 13, 2009

Are they now in a three way tie for last?
posted by klangklangston at 6:36 PM on June 13, 2009

"Minutemen." How dare they.
posted by palliser at 6:39 PM on June 13, 2009

.
posted by Joe Beese at 6:40 PM on June 13, 2009

I heartily condemn these particular actions while of course keeping firmly in mind that rightwing terrorism doesn't exist and needn't be monitored by the FBI.
posted by DU at 6:41 PM on June 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

I want to read a Charles Bowden book about this story.
posted by box at 6:43 PM on June 13, 2009

They weren't talking about love, you know what I mean? *elbow*
posted by stinkycheese at 6:44 PM on June 13, 2009

.
.
posted by rtha at 6:49 PM on June 13, 2009

Holy mother of crap. That's awful. That poor little girl, and her poor mom and sister. What a nightmare.
posted by emjaybee at 6:58 PM on June 13, 2009

My gut reaction to this was, "Jesus, what's wrong with people?". I really can't think of anything else to say, that poor family.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 7:03 PM on June 13, 2009

.
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posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:05 PM on June 13, 2009

"I will stay the course and lead in this fight with every once (sic) of strength and conviction I have," she wrote in an e-mail message to supporters. "I will not waist (sic) it on matters that do not pertain to this very mission. It is time for Americans to lock and load."

These people, for all their claims that outsiders are bringing America down, WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS THIS STUPID?
posted by heyho at 7:07 PM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

This post was like being at ground zero for when the first Evil Bomb gets dropped.

Reading about this woman and her son, with all that extreme dysfunction, lack of caring, and monstrous sociopathic behavior just booming out from their family.

I mean, how messed up do you have to get before even the extreme right wingnuts are all, "Oh no - we want nothing to do with you. Seriously. Now get off our lawn."

All you can do is NOT BE this person - look for ways to be better and show better in your lives and communities. Look for one way, any one way to take that utter madness and turn it away with your own efforts. Don't settle for it - be an antidote.

We all have it in us to make our lives more peaceful, more sane and more caring - just like this woman and her son had it in them to destroy literally anything that got in front of them.

These two individuals were under a frightening load of complete disaster from the moment they came into this world, but we aren't and we can all make a profound difference.

Woah - I can see Jessamyn's place from this soapbox. Cool. Hi Cortex!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:09 PM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sorry, I suppose that was a self-answering question. Gah, it pisses me off that people are such assholes.
posted by heyho at 7:10 PM on June 13, 2009

Remember folks, the second amendment is the only thing keeping you from being dragged out in the night and murdered by right-wingers.

I'm so angry I'm only half kidding. Arm yourselves. There's a storm a-comin'.
posted by 0xdeadc0de at 7:11 PM on June 13, 2009

But I already spent my gun budget on booze.
posted by box at 7:14 PM on June 13, 2009

WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS THIS STUPID?

So that we have (yet another unbelievably sad and horrifying) example to support the argument for teaching critical thinking skills in public education?
posted by amelioration at 7:14 PM on June 13, 2009

Forde was at the center of a flurry of violence that began Dec. 22 when her ex-husband was shot in his Everett home. A week later, she reported being beaten and raped by strangers at the same house. On Jan. 15, Forde was found in a north Everett alley with apparent gunshot wounds. [...] She claimed the violence was all retaliation for her activities targeting criminal groups operating on both sides of the border between Mexico and the U.S. [...]

"She sat here and said that she was going to start a group where they went down and start taking things away from the Mexican mafia," Caudle said. "She was going to kick in their doors and take away the money and the drugs." Caudle said she wasn't sure what to make of that at the time, in part because Forde has a history of exaggeration and lying.

Pima County sheriff's Lt. Michael O'Connor told reporters in Arizona that Raul Flores had connections to Mexican drug cartels and his involvement was known to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

I would not be too surprised if, underneath whatever drama of nationalism and hate we lay over these events, we should find something like two mafia organizations squared off over kilo bags and a line in the dirt. The Minutemen do have something of a reputation for 'intercepting' drug traffic; I can't imagine what happens to it all.

Wait. Yes, I can imagine.
posted by kid ichorous at 7:17 PM on June 13, 2009 [2 favorites]