Border Vigilante to Pay for What He Did
Roger Barnett, an Arizona rancher and border vigilante, was found to be responsible for false imprisonment, assualt, and inflicting emotional damage on Wednesday in a civil trial.
The trial was the result of an Oct. 30th, 2004 incident when Barnett held Ronald Moralas’ hunting party at gun point on state land Barnett leases. Barnett, who boasts of detaining and handing over more than 10,000 illegal immigrants to border patrol, harrased and abused the Mexican-American family and a daughter of another family. Morales is a US Navy veteran and he and his family are citizens of the United States, not illegal immigrants like Barnett normally targets.
I’m glad Barnett has to pay for what he did, but it seems like a small price when you look at what happened. Border vigilantism leads to discrimination, racism, and violence against anyone of Mexican descent, regardless of whether or not they’re here legally or illegaly. A family out for a family hunting trip on land they have permission to be on shouldn’t have to be exposed to such things.
Barnett faces further charges of violence related to vigilante activity. Maybe then he won’t get off so easy. My hope is they lock him up so he isn’t able to terrorize people while trying to act like a hero, something he most definitely isn’t.
vigilante, illegal immigrants, border patrol, Arizona, Mexico
February 1st, 2007 at 1:31 am
[...] “Roger Barnett, an Arizona rancher and border vigilante, was found to be responsible for false imprisonment, assualt, and inflicting emotional damage on Wednesday in a civil trial.” “Barnett held Ronald Moralas’ hunting party at gun point on state land Barnett leases. Barnett, who boasts of detaining and handing over more than 10,000 illegal immigrants to border patrol, harrased and abused the Mexican-American family.” (tags: amazing) [...]