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Accused Minuteman Killer May Have Murdered More Than Four

Posted December 14, 2009 by Patrick Young, Esq.

Shawna Forde’s recruitment of long-time white supremacist Jason Bush may have brought a killer with several other politically inspired murders into the Minutemen. Bush is accused of being the trigger man in the killing of elementary school student Brisenia Flores and her father Raul, as well as in the shooting of Raul’s wife. He has already been linked to two other race killings in the 1990s by witness testimony and DNA evidence. Now investigators believe he may have committed more murders on behalf of far-right organizations, according to Tim Steller in the Arizona Star.
The two Washington State murders Bush is accused of committing were the killing of a homeless Latino and a white teenager Bush described as a “race traitor”. But witnesses now say he told them he had killed a third person in Washington. This may explain a December 1997 encounter with Bush by a female friend described by Steller:
The [ newly released police] reports also say that in December 1997, weeks after the two killings he’s charged with, Bush appeared “covered in blood” on his upper body and asked a friend to use her shower.
One Washington state resident, Earl Thompson, told police this summer that Bush said in 1997, “This isn’t the first time I’ve killed somebody, and it won’t be the last time.”
Bush and Forde have pleaded not guilty to the Arivaca murders, and in an August interview with the Arizona Daily Star, Bush denied any involvement in the Washington murders with which he’s charged.
Wenatchee, Wash., Detective Sgt. John Kruse said in a report filed Nov. 17 that he has asked the FBI for help finding other possible victims of Bush, who friends described as a white supremacist.
“I related my concerns to (an FBI agent) that Bush, tied to right-wing groups, had been involved in killings in 1997 and 2009. I felt it was likely he had committed further killings between those two points in time,” Kruse wrote. “I also telephoned Sgt. Jesus Lopez from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who agreed with these concerns.”...
[A] witness,... Ginny Gamble, said this summer that in 1997, Bush showed up at a house where she was attending a gathering and asked to take a shower at her house, the reports say. Gamble, using methamphetamine at the time, agreed.
“On the way she noticed Bush had dried blood on his hands, his neck, his face and his hair,” the report says.
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.
Death penalty sought in Minuteman Murders.
Shawna Forde’s defenders.
More on the Shawna Forde support group.
Anti-Immigrant Groups Deny Ties To Shawna Forde, The Mastermind Of The Murders
Extensive documentation of Shawna Forde’s links to the Minutemen.
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.
Did Shawna Forde shoot herself to gain sympathy for her cause.
Did Shawna Forde fake her “rape”?
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.
Part 2-The Minutemen Splinter Amid Charges of Racism and Theft
Part 3 The Minutemen: Dissolution and Death
Other Articles
The New York Times covers the Minuteman murders.
Boston Globe editorialized against the “climate of vigilantism” created by the Minutemen.
Anti-immigrant leader worries that there are more Shawna Fordes.
Minutemen are both bumbling and dangerous.
Round-up of new information on the murders 7/12/09
Did Jason Bush kill Washington State teen?
Jason Bush, the Minuteman gunman, has been charged in two other white power killings.
Jason Bush claims he was not the killer.
The link between the Minutemen and the militias.
San Diego Minutemen and White supremacy.
National head of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) involved in fraudulent tax scheme.
Update on Minuteman Murders and tax fraud scheme. 8/20/09
Minuteman Problems Deepening.
Another Minuteman, this one with 15 felony convictions, Jailed while on his way to join Shawna Forde.
Jim Gilchrist’s response to my allegations.
Jim Gilchrist says he did not have extensive contact with Shawna Forde. Is he telling the truth?