A private and armed neo-Nazi force is keeping Arizona police at bay as they hunt “terrorist immigrants." J. T. Ready calls his group the “U.S. Border Guard.”
Ready is a former marine who once was court-martialed and who is part of the white supremacist National Socialist Movement. His aim is what he calls “narco-terrorist” immigrants from Mexico. "We're not going to sit around and wait for the government anymore," Ready told the Associated Press. "This is what our founding fathers did."
He says he is a humanitarian, but others call him and his group a bunch of Nazis. These are people who wear swastikas on their sleeves,” said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The “U.S. Border Guard" wears military fatigues, body armor and gas masks, and carry assault rifles.
Ready makes no bones about his intentions. In one YouTube video, he boldly states, “We’ll kill them,” referring to immigrants. "I firmly believe in having a minefield across the border. This is 100 percent effective."
A blog by a National Socialist states that on Sunday, Ready’s group caught four aliens in what the blogger said was “just another day.”
Local police are not happy about the presence of the vigilantes, whose arms are legal. "I'm not inviting them. And in fact, I'd rather they not come," said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. "Especially those who espouse hatred or bigotry such as [Ready]."
The Anti-Defamation League also is worried. Its Arizona regional director Bill Straus told Phoenix New Times blogger Stephen Lemons, "The ADL's concerned when any group that's not trained sufficiently or untrained takes it upon themselves to enforce the law. When it's J.T. Ready, National Socialists, neo-Nazis that take [on] that responsibility, the concern turns to fear. The fear of violence, let alone injustice, ramps up to a considerable degree."
One of Ready’s posts on the web includes crude remarks about “stupid” white men and Blacks who work with Jews.
He has delved into politics and has come up with what may be a campaign slogan: "The Purity of the Aryan Race is the most precious resource nature has to offer all of humankind."