Jim Gilchrist on the right
link to photo
A couple of summers ago I went to a congressional hearing on immigration here in Houston. The newspaper called the hearing a dog and pony show.
Sitting next to me was a man in his late 50's or early 60's. I noticed that he kept moving towards me. It didn't appear that he was doing this because he liked me. Maybe I was imagining but it seems like anger and dislike emoted from his body. By the end of the hearing I was pushed aside so much, if I would have been at the end of the bench I would have fallen off.
Although I'm not sure, I think it could have been Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minute Man Movement. Even if it wasn't - it was certainly on of Gilchrist's sympathizers.
Who would have ever thought that Gilchrist would actually regret what he had done with the Minute Men. I guess this shows there is always hope.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Minutemen leader laments path of anti-illegal immigration groups
Founder of Minuteman Project said he worries about people instigating violence in connection with his group's name.
By AMY TAXIN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
When Jim Gilchrist headed to the U.S.-Mexico border three years ago to press for tougher immigration enforcement, he carried binoculars.
Today, Gilchrist is worried that a few self-proclaimed patriots might be carrying a gun.
After seeing online videos that encouraged border violence amid calls to crack down on illegal immigration, the 59-year-old Aliso Viejo resident said he feels responsible for what started out as a publicity campaign and has since fallen prey to internal divisions and to influence by people he believed had "Saddam Hussein mentalities."
"In retrospect, had I seen this, had I had a crystal ball to see what is going to happen… Am I happy? No," Gilchrist said in a phone conversation late last week. "Am I happy at the outcome of this whole movement? I am very, very sad, very disappointed..."
Sometimes, Gilchrist said he thinks about leaving the debate over illegal immigration and taking on a new issue like urban blight or tax reform. For now, he said he will continue to lobby for more border patrol agents but not from a perch on the border, watching for people trying to cross.
"I have found, after four years in this movement (…) I very well may have been fighting for people with less character and less integrity than the 'open border fanatics' I have been fighting against," he said. "And that is a phenomenal indictment of something I have created."
Contact the writer Amy Taxin: 714-796-7722 or ataxin@ocregister.com
2 comments:
Check the website regarding Jim Gilchrist. He is merely setting the stage for an exit strategy, amidst several lawsuits against him, and questions everywhere about what Jim Gilchrist's Minute Man Project has been doing with all that money. They associate with some real shady characters. It will be great to see Gilchrist and that Eichler guy out of the movement.
"I have found, after four years in this movement (…) I very well may have been fighting for people with less character and less integrity than the 'open border fanatics' I have been fighting against," he said."
Ahh… you don’t need a crystal ball to predict that…but its nice that he is somewhat remorseful of the hateful vigilantism he encouraged.
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