Center for New Community - Building Democracy Magazine

Building Democracy Magazine - April 2007

From The Editor's Desk

It’s hard to believe it’s only been two years since the Minutemen held their first “muster” on the Arizona border. Today, there are at least three different constellations of Minutemen groups made up of 140 different state/local chapters across the country.

Charges of Graft and Corruption Hobble Minuteman Project

By Leonard Zeskind & Melissa Nalani Ross

A lawsuit filed in California by one faction of the Minuteman Project against another reveals the glut of ready money and the ego-driven power-seeking that accompanies border vigilante politics. Warring factions in the California-based Minuteman Project (MMP) took their internal meltdown to the courts this year when founder James Gilchrist sued his own advisory board for turning on him. But in-fighting is hardly new to Minuteman groups.

Profile: The Minuteman Project (MMP)

We take a look at the history, size, scope, and activities of the Minuteman Project (MMP), the faction associated with Jim Gilchrist.

Profile: Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC)

We examine the origins, size, scope, and activities of Chris Simcox's Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC).

Border Vigilantes Threaten Arizona Legislator

By Ray Ybarra

A bill introduced in the Arizona State Legislature by Representative Kyrsten Sinema (D – District 15) that would have prohibited vigilante border patrols failed to make it out of committee -- yet the commotion surrounding the bill showed the volatile nature of border vigilantes.

Former Member Takes Aim at Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

By Melissa Nalani Ross

In another sign of fracturing amongst various vigilante factions, a former member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) has leveled a series of devastating charges against her former group. In a 29-page document released on the internet entitled “The Neutering of the Minutemen,” a controversial anti-immigrant activist blasts her former boss.

Vlaams Belang in the USA

By Leonard Zeskind

In February, representatives of Vlaams Belang, an anti-immigrant ultra-nationalist party from Belgium, traveled to the United States to meet with American white nationalist and anti-immigrant groups.Read all about their visit.