A group of anti-fascist activists disrupted on Monday a public meeting sponsored by the United Patriots of America (UPA) – an ally of the Minuteman Project – an organization that promotes hate-mongering vigilantism against Hispanics, currently being seen in the southwest.
Held in Bridgewater Sports Arena, in New Jersey, the United Patriots of America meeting was an effort to recruit local residents opposed to immigration. The fact that the keynote speaker was a member of two hate groups added another dynamic to the UPA’s agenda.
The disruption began in the midst of Minuteman Ed Whitbred's speech, when about 25 people got up from their seats, unfolded a banner, and first chanted "stop racist deportation, working people have no race", which then evolved into "Fascists go home!"
"That was just the Communist Worker's Party of the United States of America," an Arizona Minuteman said, attempting to jokingly brush off the opposition – just before he left the room to check on his car, fearing it might be vandalized by counterprotesters if they noticed his Arizona license plates.
Whitbred of Frederick, M.D., reportedly a cast director for East Alco Aluminum Plant, was sent by Minuteman founder Chris Simcox to represent the group. He was a daylight crew supervisor for the Minutemen when they were mobilized in Arizona last April. Frederick tried to describe the necessity of the Minutemen in securing the U.S. Constitution and said the largest priority is to secure the borders.
"Our goal is to demonstrate that the border could be secure if the government had the will to do so," he said, adding that the government is simply not doing enough to keep immigrants out. In practicing such vigilante-type border control, he added, the group has a "no contact rule," meaning that, as he claims, they aim to spot "illegal aliens" crossing the border, report such crossings to the border patrol, and "stay out of the way."
The keynote speaker was John Clark from both the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR) and American Immigration Control Foundation (AIC). His comments attempted to re-emphasize the importance of the Minuteman Project, and his hope to "spread the word" that today's immigrants harm the country's well-being. This led him to go on a diatribe against Mexicans. "These people have no respect," he said. "They've killed people's livestock, they defecate on people's porches."
Protesters also gathered outside of the Bridgewater Sports Arena. At the parking lot entrance, a diverse crowd of 30 to 40 people rallied against the meeting. The rally organized by Casa Freehold – a coalition of immigrants and citizens from Freehold, N.J. fighting for social welfare and immigrants' rights – lasted about two hours. In emails leading up to the demonstration, they asked supporters to call the Bridgewater Sports Arena or email them and "let them know your disappointment for allowing an obvious hate group to use their arena."
About 50 people attended the meeting; however, the antifascist disruption left the room with less than half the attendees, consisting of a handful of older white persons. Some came from Long Island, where Bass said the next meeting will take place. Others came from a group called Pennsylvanians Against Illegal Immigration, which holds meetings every first and third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., at the library in Warminster, PA, 18.5 miles from Philadelphia. Chris Simcox's community paper, the Tombstone Tumbleweed was also distributed.
Linden, N.J.-based United Patriots of America is operated by Ron Bass who owns a trucking company in Elizabeth, N.J.. He opened the meeting with words of anti-immigrant sentiment. Bass, who had helped to coordinate the newly formed N.J. Citizens for Homeland Defense (NJCHD), said politicians and government officials are not doing their job in "protecting" U.S. borders from "illegal aliens."
The United Patriots of America is self-described as an "established organization that seeks to provide an 'umbrella' under which to form, into one large association, a coalition of solidarity for ALL the small, medium, and large anti-illegal alien groups and individual activists." The purpose of the organization, reads a flier, is to gain such clout through their numbers that they will be "respected, heard, and feared." In doing so, they plan to "wage the war to stop and reverse the overwhelming, illegal alien invasion crushing our country."
Meanwhile, under said UPA umbrella, the Minuteman Project intends to "expand its efforts to focus on interior enforcement, including businesses that hire illegal aliens and sponsor illegal alien hiring halls," reads the flier. They want to remind Americans that the U.S. was founded based on "'rule of law,' not by the whims of mobs of illegal aliens who endlessly stream across U.S. borders."
The Minuteman Project has publicly denounced racist groups and individuals, saying on its website that "MMP has no affiliation with, nor will we accept any assistance by or interference from separatists, racists or supremacy groups or individuals, no matter what their race, color, or creed." Despite this, they are indeed found accepting assistance from separatists, racists and supremacy groups and individuals.
The event was closed to media and with the exception of those associated with the UPA, no one was allowed to take pictures or film the event. Those who were identified as press were quickly asked to leave. Ironically, this meeting was announced on the website of New York radio station 77 WABC. Minuteman supporter Sean Hannity's radio program originates from this station.
