Right Wing Terrorism Watch - Nativist Leader, and nativist henchmen, Arrested For Double Murder

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The leader of Minutemen American Defense (MAD), a nativist extremist group that conducts vigilante patrols on the Arizona-Mexico border, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder Friday for her alleged role in the May 30 slayings of a Latino man and his 9-year-old daughter in Pima County, Ariz.

MAD Executive Director Shawna Forde, 41, allegedly orchestrated a home invasion robbery of a suspected narcotics trafficker because she was seeking drugs and cash to fund her group’s vigilante operations, law enforcement authorities said. The murders, including the killing of the child, were part of the plan, said Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. “She’s, at best, a psychopath,” Dupnik said of Forde in comments quoted by the Green Valley News & Sun.

Also arrested were MAD Operations Director Jason Eugene “Gunny” Bush, 34, the alleged triggerman in the murders, and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42, a local member of MAD. Along with the two murder counts, Forde and her two associates were charged with one count of first-degree burglary and one count of aggravated assault.

MAD has been conducting vigilante patrols in southern Arizona since mid-May. Sheriff Dupnik reportedly said that between the time of the killings and her arrest, Forde remained in the area “still trying … to get together a large amount of money to further sophisticate the type of operation she’s interested in.”

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/06/15/nativist-leader-arrested-for-double-murder/