Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

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Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Convicted Minuteman Border Vigilante Maintains Innocence

Eric Lach | February 16, 2011, 9:16AM

Shawna Forde

On Monday, a Pima County, Ariz., jury convicted Shawna Forde on two counts of first-degree murder for the May 2009 killings of Raul Junior Flores and his nine-year-old daughter Brisenia. Forde was also found guilty of attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of Flores' wife, Gina Gonzalez, along with several other charges, all stemming from a grisly home invasion that prosecutors said Forde masterminded to fund her border vigilante group. On Tuesday, the jury decided Forde is eligible for the death penalty.

After the verdict on Monday, Forde gave a jail house interview to The Daily Beast's Terry Greene Sterling, in which she maintained her innocence:

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Topics: Arizona, Immigration, Minuteman American Defense, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Shawna Forde

Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Minuteman Leader: When I Said To Come To The Border Locked And Loaded, I Didn't Mean Locked And Loaded

Zachary Roth | March 29, 2010, 10:07AM

A member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), the Arizona-based anti-illegal-immigration group whose members keep watch on the border, is disbanding as a national organization, after its leader asked for volunteers to come "locked, loaded, and ready," then got more than she bargained for.

On March 16, Minuteman president Carmen Mercer sent out an email to members, urging them to come to the border "locked, loaded and ready," reports the Arizona Daily Star. She added: "You are strongly encouraged to exercise your rights and duty as an American citizen to carry a long arm and if challenged use it to defend the United States of America." Mercer also suggested changing the group's rules to allow members to track illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, rather than just reporting them to the Border Patrol.