June 29, 2009 11:59 AM
[BREAKING NEWS 7/7/09 Minuteman Murderer Confesses!]
I recently e-mailed Glenn Spencer of American Border Patrol to find out more information about his involvement with accused Minuteman murderer Shawna Forde. His aide Melissa Jaramillo was gracious enough to respond on one of the questions I had; "How many times had Forde visited the ranch where Spencer lives? Here is her response:
I understand you have some questions about Shawna Forde’s visits to the ranch. Each person that visits is required to sign in when they arrive. I have gone through the log book and found that Shawn Forde had been her three times. In Feb. 2008 she came by with several friends to see the ranch. In March of 2008, she visited again. Her last visit was in August of 2008, when she spent a week with her daughter. At that time, Mr. Spencer had decided that he did not want her around the ranch. One of our employees tried to vouch for her, saying she was alright, but Mr. Spencer stayed firm. We did not see Shawna Forde again until the day she was arrested.
More Links to the Minuteman Murders
Since the police first revealed the Minuteman connection to the murders of ten year Brisenia Flores and her father Raul, Long Island Wins has provided intensive coverage of this story. Here is an index of the most important articles we've posted:
The Crime
The shocking murder of a little girl and her father focused our attention on recent Minuteman activities in Arizona.
Minuteman Murderer Confesses!
The 911 call by a mother who had just seen her husband and child murdered.
Excerpts from the police reports on the murder investigation.
Anti-Immigrant Groups Deny Ties To Shawna Forde, The Mastermind Of The Murders
Although Forde was a part of Minuteman from its early years, anti-immigrant groups around the country immediately branded her an insignificant figure, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary.
More on Shawna Forde's extensive connections with anti-immigrant groups.
While the Minutemen depict her as a minor figure, their own web site described Shawna Forde as a person in the leadership.
Shawna Forde had close ties to Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minutemen. Is Gilchrist an important figure in that movement?
This article looks at Gilchrist's communications with Forde after the killings.
Inside The Mind Of Shawna Forde
Video interview with Shawna Forde on "patrol" along the border.
Shawna Forde's blog from the Tea Party a month before the killings.
And here is an article the main Minuteman Project website published from Shawna Forde.
Here are first person reports of the Minuteman rally in Everett Washington organized by Shawna Forde at which Jim Gilchrist was the keynote speaker.
The Glenn Spencer Connection
Glenn Spencer, one of the founders of the "border protection movement" and the man who inspired Suffolk's anti-immigrant movement had ties to Shawna Forde. She was arrested nearly two weeks after the killings immediately after visiting him.
Glenn Spencer speaks out on the Minuteman murders.
The Minutemen Speak
The weird response of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to the media coverage of the murders.
The Civil War in the Anti-Immigrant Movement
The fallout from the killings has led to a brutal civil war among anti-immigrant groups, with vicious charges being traded by erstwhile allies.
Glenn Spencer's aide takes on the leader of ALIPAC.
Are Minutemen beginning to threaten each other's lives?
Anti-immigrant leader worries there may be more Shawna Fordes in "movement".
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy And The Minutemen
Steve Levy's endorsement in 2006 by the founder of the Minutemen.
Steve Levy and the Suffolk Minutemen.
Border Storm-Our new three-part series on the history of the Minutemen
Part-1 How the Minutemen became the heroes of the Right.
Other Articles
The New York Times covers the Minuteman murders.
Boston Globe editorialized against the "climate of vigilantism" created by the Minutemen.
Patrick,
Do you know of any anti-illegal immigration website that published the story of the Arivaca attacks BEFORE Forde was arrested? For those who claim they say the story and thought Forde might be involved, did they publish that information on any website prior to Forde's arrest?
Do you think they either didn't really know and are now claiming to have known for publicity or perhaps they did know and took some part but are claiming to have warned police to protect themselves?
Thanks,
Sam
PS - I checked a lot of sites and did not find any mention of the attack prior to the arrests.
By Anon June 29, 2009 04:32 PM
I looked for sites that had speculation about Forde's involvement in the killings prior to the arrests and could not find any. Post hoc a number of Minuteman groups have claimed to have issued warnings or notified the authorities, but none were confirmed by the cops. As I noted elsewhere, an associate of Jim Gilchrist contacted Gilchrist to tell him law enforcement was looking for Forde a couple of days after the killing, although it is not clear to me if the cops let the associate know it was in regard to the Flores murders.
In accounts of the police following Forde, at least for now, it looks like the police were alerted to her possible involvement when they visited Gaxiola and found the teal van with bloodstains outside, as well as Minuteman gear in his house. Gaxiola's cell phone gave them her phone number which would have allowed them to get a fuller profile of her from the phone company. This, in turn, would have allowed them to find out her wireless e-mail account.
The police apparently used the location functions of her wireless devices to track her down and arrest her. There is no indication from the police that they were tipped off, at least at an early stage, by the Minutemen.
In fact, they went after Gaxiola initially because locals apparently knew that he had a beef with Raul Flores over some marijuanna Gaxiola had on the Flores property. Raul's wife confirmed the dispute and told police that the "Mexican" that she believed had participated in the attack was consistent with her recollection of Gaxiola.
This is why I can't be sure if Spencer should reasonably have suspected Forde when she showed up at his place. Maybe the Minutemen are lying and they really didn't notify people to watch out for her. Maybe Gilchrist sat on the info he had or considered it speculative, or did not associate it with the killings. Or maybe Glenn Spencer was just out of the loop, although it seems like a lot of the principals turned up at his ranch in the weeks around this event.
Hopefully we will find out.
By Pat Young June 29, 2009 05:51 PM
I concur with your positions. That is also my understandings. I can tell you that none of us here in SE Arizona, Cochise County, had heard of the incident in Arivaca until after Fordes arrest.
You know as well as I do that incidents like that would never get any attention from the anti-illegal immigration crowd. They (not all, as I am anti-illegal as well) simply do not care one bit about those types of incidents, where no illegal immigrants are involved. The only reason why they spoke up on this one is because a couple of minutemen were involved.
I guarantee that if somebody really heard of the incident and suspected Forde, with the hatred some have towards her, they would've posted it all over the net and brought her to justice much faster. You know they don't give a damn about Brisenia or her family - to them, it's just one less drug dealer (even though there is no evidence Raul was tied to the drug trade). All they care about, is not looking bad to the public.
By Anon June 29, 2009 06:10 PM
nice posts. I've been following this news of the MAD hit since the story broke. Here's a link to my KOS diary, some of whose information may be new to you. Check out the San Diego Minutemen "enemies list".
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/15/742948/-A-little-Minuteman-research
By CS June 29, 2009 10:50 PM
Jeff of the SDMM is a creep - a womanizer/abuser and a crazy nut. You should read one of the emails he sent me, see the video of him shoving his girlfriend and her child around, see the photos of him in womens swimsuits - He's just as dangerous as Forde.
By Sam June 30, 2009 11:42 AM
For a bit more on Jeff Schwilk, including the photos I mentioned:
http://minutemanscam.com/mmscam/index.php?topic=2.0
By Anon June 30, 2009 12:55 PM
I'll try to focus on the San Diego Minutemen as well as other groups in coming days.
By Pat Young June 30, 2009 06:43 PM
I would like to personally thank Shawna Forde for doing the job the U.S. government won't do itself. We can all sleep a little better at night knowing that at least one Mex drug trafficker scumbag is gone for good. Too bad we do not have one hundred thousand more Shawna Forde's in America. And it is a shame that Shawna has to make the ultimate sacrifice in exchange for this civic deed to transpire. Instead of getting locks and cold steel bars, Shawna should be presented with the key to the city where she took out the trash. She is a true American tragedy. Victim of ZOG since she was a little girl; a blond being preyed upon for her young body on the streets just to survive. To being imprisoned for eradicating a foreign terrorist who deals in chemical warfare against our populace. She deserves all of our sympathy and adulation as both a brave lady and a strong American patriot.
By JT Ready July 21, 2009 03:45 AM
JT Ready,
There is no evidence that Raul Flores was trafficking drugs. He was a legal American citizen and did not have a criminal record. He even turned Albert Gaxiola in for trying to store drugs on the Flores property. You might not know this, but one drug dealer does not call the cops on another one to report such an offence. He would simply steal his stash.
JT huh? I think I know who you are.
By Anon July 21, 2009 01:03 PM