Alleged Minuteman Killer Co-Hosted Anti-Immigration Event Featuring GOP Presidential Candidates
Alleged Minuteman Killer Co-Hosted Anti-Immigration Event Featuring GOP Presidential Candidates
Firedoglake reports that Shawna Forde, the anti-immigrant leader of the Minuteman American Defense (M.A.D.) who was recently charged with the murder of a 9-year-old Hispanic girl and her father, co-hosted the 2007 Washington State Illegal Immigration Summit that reportedly featured presidential candidates Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, and Fred Thompson.
The Reagan Wing, a conservative blog dedicated to picking up Ronald Reagan’s “sword” still features a plug for the summit which it describes as “the pinnacle Conservative event of 2007“:
In addition the event is co-hosted by Minutemen American Defense, a Washington state-wide American citizen defense coalition headed by Shawna Forde, a re-born Rock promoter from the days of the music world-shaking Seattle Rock explosion. Shawna will speak.
Representatives (or the actual candidates) will appear from Presidential campaigns for TOM TANCREDO, DUNCAN HUNTER and FRED THOMPSON.
Minuteman leader Jim Gilchrist, who has tried to distance himself from Forde in recent days, also headlined the 2007 event.
The summit, which featured the slogan “The Great Gringo awakens from siesta,” was reportedly attended by “white supremacists, militia types, neo-Nazis, and skinheads.”
Right wing anti-immigration groups are frantically trying to distance themselves from Forde. The anti-immigrant group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), issued a press release this afternoon denying any association with Forde after a video popped up of Shawna Forde speaking as a FAIR activist. The blog Long Island Wins reports that web pages from Gilchrist’s website where he supposedly defends Forde are nothing but broken links in a google cache. VDARE, “the homepage of educated racism” has reportedly also “scrubbed” all of its web pages that once supported Forde. So far, CNN’s Rick Sanchez has been one of the few mainstream journalists to question Forde’s connection to the larger movement against immigration.
SANCHEZ: The nation’s largest minuteman group has distanced itself from Forde we should say. And we’ve learned that within Minuteman circles she is considered a bit of a loose canon. But you do have to wonder: how did Shawna Forde–a supposed fringe element–turn up on PBS as a player in the anti-immigration movement?
Watch it:
Immigration advocates are outraged at the mainstream media’s lack of coverage and are asking their supporters to share the story of the 9-year-old victim’s death. Today, Crooks and Liars posted an emotional recording of the 911 call placed by her mother on the day of the attack.
9 Responses to “Alleged Minuteman Killer Co-Hosted Anti-Immigration Event Featuring GOP Presidential Candidates”
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The above report is intentionally misleading as is the tendency of the LEFT. For instance, The Illegal Immigration Summit NEVER “featured” or even used the slogan “The Great Gringo awakens from siesta.” Not was it “attended by ANY ‘white supremacists, militia types, neo-Nazis, and skinheads.’” Those stereotypes are applied by Open Borders and Amnesty Propagandists to anyone who opposes open borders or amnesty. You need to understand that if you believe in the right to bear arms, you are a “militia type” in the lexicon of the left, and if you oppose Immigratoin Amnesty you are a “racist” and if you oppsoe Socialism you are “driven by greed,” even though it is the Socialists who are driven by greed, the illegals who are (frequently) driven by racism and “Nazis” who are socialists.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:04 pmGood job at doubling down on the smears. The word “as” in “Shawna Forde speaking as a FAIR activist” is a almost assuredly an attempt to mislead. She claimed to represent FAIR; FAIR points out that she never represented them.
That’s like holding RexHudler responsible for what a RexHudler imposter does. Of course, that’s the CAP way of doing things.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:44 pmI have been wondering when the apologist for FAIR would appear.
The racist inspired pre-planned murder of the Flores family in Arizona on May 30, 2009 by anti-immigrant activists continues to stun the nation. Meanwhile the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), one of the nation’s most influential and controversial anti-immigrant organizations, is busy trying to spin itself out of the bigoted hole it has dug for itself over thirty year existence.
Over the last several days, writers across the blogosphere have been reporting that Shawna Forde, one of the murderers of nine year-old Brisenia Flores, was named as a representative of FAIR in 2006. Today FAIR finally released its own response to the charges. Instead of taking organizational responsibility for its role in creating the political climate that feeds anti-Latino hysteria, FAIR, in an Orwellian manner, uses its press release as an opportunity to attack the well respected civil rights organization the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Check out more on my take on irresponsibility of FAIR over at http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2009/06/17/fair-tries-to-flee-sinking-anti-immigrant-ship/
June 17th, 2009 at 11:38 pmFunny that FAIR never worried about Shawna representing them back in 2006 when this townhall occurred (the video linked to here). Also strange that Shawna took the stage with Republican presidential candidates on behalf of the minutemen. Of course all these organizations want to distance themselves from her now- they’d be insane not to, with the role they’ve played in fanning the flames of extremism.
Whether or not Shawna was ever paid by FAIR to speak on its behalf makes little difference now, but the onus is certainly on FAIR to prove that Shawna and others like her do not speak for FAIR. Will FAIR dump its ties to white nationalism and its ridiculous assertions about “reconquista”? Will it drop John Tanton from its board?
Will it distance itself from VDARE and the minutemen?
Will it continue to block real, comprehensive solutions to our immigration mess and advocate for mass-deportation?
You tell me.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:46 pmThat’s like saying that osama bin laden is not responsible for the movement he created. This is domestic terrorism, you teach them hate then set them loose on the population. Even though no direct funding was there at the time of the incident, they made them into what they are.
How anyone can argue that a little girl is dead is beyond me.
I don’t see how anyone who was even closely remotely responsible for fostering and promoting hate towards immigrants can clean their hands.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:29 amYOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE CAN TAKE YOUR WORDS AND ACT ON THEM, NOW DEAL WITH YOUR REALITY.
The worst part about this is that once the movement has been started there is no way to stop it. I believe this is the beginning of what will be a new chapter of hate in America.
Interesting that we never saw a press release or any peep out of FAIR after Forde spoke on their behalf? Now when did Shawna Forde stop being an authorized spokesperson for FAIR, before or after she was arrested for murdering a 9 year old child and her father?
June 18th, 2009 at 2:35 amIt is VERY interesting that FAIR did not try to distance themselves from Ms. Forde until now. Damage control anyone?
June 18th, 2009 at 11:41 amThe minute a tragedy occurs because of the hate planted and fostered in peoples’ minds, those who are screaming hate the loudest, start whining about everyone trying to take away their freedom of speech. There is a difference between freedom of speech and responsible speech. Those who say the things that FAIR and Fox talking heads say should feel some shame and responsibility for the hate crimes happening. Even some of our esteemed members of the GOP in Congress take this speech too far. Going so far as to label our President “unamerican” or “facist” ore “socialist”. Talk about irresponsible.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:57 pmI cannot believe that organizations like FAIR and the Minutemen and people like Limbaugh, Tancredo, and Parris can hyperventilate about how Hollywood is corrupting our society, but when someone takes them at their word that “liberals” ought to be killed, then they claim that they had nothing to do with it, that there is no connection between what people see on TV and what they do. This is just like Operation Rescue and O’Reilly falling all over themselves claiming that they had nothing to do with Dr. Tiller’s murder. You would think that the morally upright, personally responsible rightwing would have the moral fiber to take responsibility for their own actions.
You would think so, but you’d be wrong. Those boys take no responsibility for anything they’ve done.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:43 pm