Shawna Forde, Minutemen Leader, Arrested In Double Killing In Arizona

[FarmerJohn]

Shawna Forde was once part of the larger Minuteman Civil Defense Corps but broke off to lead the Minutemen American Defense (MAD).

FJ

BOB CHRISTIE June 13, 2009 06:52 PM EST

PHOENIX — Two of three people arrested in a southern Arizona home invasion that left a little girl and her father dead had connections to a Washington state anti-illegal immigration group that conducts border watch activities in Arizona.

Jason Eugene Bush, 34, Shawna Forde, 41, and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42, have been charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and other charges, said Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz.

The trio are alleged to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a home about 10 miles north of the Mexican border in rural Arivaca on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their 9-year-old daughter. Their motive was financial, Dupnik said.

"The husband who was murdered has a history of being involved in narcotics and there was an anticipation that there would be a considerable amount of cash at this location as well as the possibility of drugs," Dupnik said.

Forde is the leader of Minutemen American Defense, a small border watch group, and Bush goes by the nickname "Gunny" and is its operations director, according to the group's Web site. She is from Everett, Wash., has recently been living in Arizona and was once associated with the better known and larger Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

A statement attributed to officers of Forde's group and posted on its Web site on Saturday extended condolences to the victims' families and said the group doesn't condone such acts and will cooperate with law enforcement.

"This is not what Minutemen do," said member Chuck Stonex, who responded to an e-mail from The Associated Press sent through the Web site. "Minutemen observe, document and report. This is nothing more than a cold-hearted criminal act, and that is all we want to say."

The assailants planned to leave no one alive, Dupnik said at a press conference in Tucson on Friday. He said Forde was the ringleader.

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"This was a planned home invasion where the plan was to kill all the people inside this trailer so there would be no witnesses," Dupnik said. "To just kill a 9-year-old girl because she might be a potential witness to me is just one of the most despicable acts that I have heard of."

Dupnik said Forde continued working through Friday to raise a large amount of money to make her anti-illegal immigrant operation more sophisticated.

Forde denied involvement as she was led from sheriff's headquarters.

"No, I did not do it," she said. "I had nothing to do with it."

Gaxiola also denied involvement; Bush was arrested at a Kingman, Ariz., hospital where he was being treated for a leg wound he allegedly received when the woman who survived the attack managed to get a gun and fire back.

Killed were 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her 29-year-old father, Raul Junior Flores. The name of the wounded woman who survived the attack hasn't been released.

Forde is well known in the anti-illegal immigration community, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

"She's someone who even within the anti-immigration movement has been labeled as unstable," Levin said. "She was basically forced out of another anti-immigrant group, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and then founded her own organization."

Stonex, of Alamagordo, N.M., said he met Forde while on an Arizona border watch operation last fall, and liked her despite her reputation in the Minutemen community.

"I know she's always had sort of a checkered past but I take people for what I see and not what I hear," the 57-year-old said.

She recruited him to start a new chapter in New Mexico, but was secretive about her group or its members. Stonex said he didn't know how to recruit for a chapter and never did.

He said Forde called him on the day of the attack while he was visiting Arizona and asked him to bring bandages to an Arivaca home because Bush had been wounded. Stonex said it appeared Bush had a relatively minor gunshot wound, which he treated.

He said Forde and Bush told him Bush been wounded by a smuggler who shot at him while the group were patrolling the desert.

Stonex said he didn't suspect that might not be the case until was contacted by a deputy on Saturday about their alleged involvement in the crime.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/shawna-forde-minutemen-le_n_215246.html

 

[Topusaret]

FJ, Shawna Ford was once a member of MCDC for approximately three months and was booted (not, "broke off") because of her extremist views. Basically, she didn't pass the stringent background checks required of MCDC members.

This article, though one of the least informative ones available, even states this:

"She was basically forced out of another anti-immigrant group, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and then founded her own organization."

yet you feel compelled to misstate (dare I say, lie?) by writing:

"Shawna Forde was once part of the larger Minuteman Civil Defense Corps but broke off to lead the Minutemen American Defense (MAD)."

And while I'm at it, the first quote above is false, as well. MCDC is NOT an "anti-immigrant group". It is an anti-ILLEGAL immigrant group. Big difference, and one that apparently the author and you chose to ignore.

You only hurt your credibility by such blatant propaganda.

 

[FarmerJohn]

Topusaret, please pardon my slightly inaccurate summary of the article. I figured that the article would be of interest to TB2K members. Perhaps (to be safe) I should have quoted the article itself:

Forde was once associated with the better known and larger Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

I'd like to note that the article that I posted is pretty clear that quotes that refer to anti-immigrant groups (as opposed to anti-illegal-immigrant groups) are attributed to Brian Levin who is either using shorthand or wishing to smear anti-illegal-immigrant groups with the false label of anti-immigrant groups.

Perhaps you are a much better authority than I about these activities. Please feel free to clarify or post your own take on these events.

FJ

 

[Topusaret]

I'll be happy to respond to the inaccuracies posted. The following are statements from Carmen Mercer, the current MCDC leader and Chris Simcox, founder and past MCDC leader and current Senatorial Candidate:

Alleged Home Invasion Murder suspects criminals, not "Minutemen"

Carmen Mercer President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps extends the sympathies for the loss of life in an unfortunate criminal act of violence that led to the deaths of a father and 9-year-old girl during a home invasion in Arivaca, Arizona.

"Our entire country and especially our border region with Mexico has been plagued by senseless violence for decades. It seems the violence can almost always be traced back to illegal drugs and the crimes and corruption it breeds. That is definitely the case in the Arivaca murders."

"This is nothing more than criminals preying on criminals for profit and out of greed, with no regard for human life. "

"Since the drug cartels have taken over the Human Slave trade routes over 20,000 people have died on both sides of the border and thousands have perished alone in our southwestern deserts. Many of those left to die in the desert, raped or sold into the sex slave industry are innocent people.
We wish the media would give the same amount of attention to the tens of thousands of senseless murders committed by terrorist drug cartels and human smugglers and connect those who support open borders as accomplices in the deaths and victimization of thousands by smugglers who deal in human misery for profit."

"The media continues to flame the fires of ethnic friction and faux racism through their ridiculous reporting that this is a Minuteman crime - the media is irrational and reckless in perpetrating this despicable propaganda."

"The Arivaca home invasion had nothing to do with the Minutemen, nothing to do with race or illegal immigration, it had to do with psychopathic criminals preying on other criminals - it has to do with the continued crime bred from the smuggling industry created and tacitly enabled by our federal government and greedy business owners. The murders like tens of thousands of other do have a direct correlation to our unsecured borders created by the dereliction of duty of our congress and president, past and present."

"It is unfortunate that a crime like this could not have been prevented; the reality is most criminals cannot be stopped until they commit a crime. Sometimes even when you do the right thing, like contacting the proper authorities as the officers of MCDC did in the case of Shawna Forde, we cannot always predict nor prevent senseless violence - but to use once instance on non-related violence to smear a group or those on a "side of a debate" is the most despicable and dangerous form of fascism known to civilized society."

Chris Simcox, past president and founder of Minuteman Civil Defense adds these facts.

Shawna Forde registered to become a volunteer with MCDC in July of 2006. Never having cleared her probationary period, she was constantly found to be trouble; unbecoming behaviors included, deception, holding unauthorized meetings and promoting herself as a chapter director and spokesperson for the organization without authorization. She even convinced national leaders that she had been "drafted" by volunteers in her area to be the new Washington State Director. After less than 6 frustrating months she was terminated in February, 2007. Concerned with Forde's bizarre behaviors, our Washington and Arizona State leadership teams reported to and worked cooperatively with law enforcement in Washington and Arizona. The other individuals involved in the criminal incident were never registered volunteers of MCDC and had no affiliation with our organization.

Forde formed her own small group and forged an alliance with Jim Gilchrist and the Minuteman Project.

In the spring of 2008, Forde visited our MCDC headquarters camp in California unannounced and was given a "tour" by a caretaker who had no idea who she was. Forde then moved to Arizona and in October was doing a "media tour" near Three Points, Arizona and attempted to forge a new working relationship, we refused and she continued to infiltrate other groups including the Patriots Border Alliance another group of malcontents who were terminated from MCDC and formed their own group.

Border Patrol and Pima County Sheriffs were notified and we shared our concerns about Forde and the PBA and other individuals who were working together in close proximity to MCDC operations. We shared our concerns with law enforcement that both groups were not operating under the same strict standard operating procedures employed by MCDC.

MCDC leadership followed our pro law enforcement pledge and civic duty to report suspicious behaviors of all worrisome individuals to the proper authorities, as was the case with Shawna Forde.



In Defense of our Country, I remain,

Carmen Mercer, President


It is quite clear that Shawna Forde and at least one of her associates was a member of MCDC for a brief period in 2006 before having her (their) membership(s) revoked by the organization.

It is also abundantly clear that Brian Levin has utilized much too broad a brush in painting organizations such as MCDC as "anti-immigrant", instead of simply using the much more accurate, anti-illegal immigrant" label.

I have been a member of MCDC since before Shawn Forde (October 2005) and have stood quite a few musters, including a couple of week-long shifts. During that time, I have met literally hundreds of MCDC volunteers both on the line and before and after, when conversation is much more possible. During several hundred hours in contact with these several hundred volunteers, I have never heard a single racist comment. Indeed, I would estimate that approximately 20% of volunteers are of Hispanic heritage. I would also estimate that approximately 20% of volunteers are either naturalized citizens or first-generation legal immigrants. Several I met were the children or grandchildren of illegal immigrants, precisely the people we were mustered to find.

Believe it or not, a large part of the MCDC mission is humanitarian. Of course, we report illegals we observe to Border Patrol. But let me refer you to an old, old, thread from my second muster:

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=173910

MCDC even has a highly trained Search and Rescue Team that spends several days a month searching for illegals who find themselves in serious trouble in the Sonoran Desert in 105 degree heat.

I strongly urge you to investigate MCDC more on your own and to not succumb to the rhetoric spewed by the biased media. A good starting point would be the MCDC website. Start with the Minuteman Pledge and the SOP on the menu to the left:

http://www.minutemanhq.com/hq/

Regards,
Top (a naturalized citizen, 21-year Army veteran, and proud MCDC Minuteman

 

[NC Susan]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
"Since the drug cartels have taken over the Human Slave trade routes over 20,000 people have died on both sides of the border and thousands have perished alone in our southwestern deserts. Many of those left to die in the desert, raped or sold into the sex slave industry are innocent people.
We wish the media would give the same amount of attention to the tens of thousands of senseless murders committed by terrorist drug cartels and human smugglers and connect those who support open borders as accomplices in the deaths and victimization of thousands by smugglers who deal in human misery for profit."

"The media continues to flame the fires of ethnic friction and faux racism through their ridiculous reporting that this is a Minuteman crime - the media is irrational and reckless in perpetrating this despicable propaganda."[/FONT]

 

[cjoi]

Thank you, Toppie, for bringing out the actual facts of this situation.
Isn't it interesting how reality clears away the confusion that "reporters" such as Christie try to inject into situations such as these?