The People Confront Racist Minutemen in Sacramento
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Sunday, 30 October 2005

On October 29, 2005, about one hundred Minutemen, a racist vigilante group, staged a rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento in order to gain support for an initiative that would create a state police force specifically responsible for enforcing federal immigration law. More than one thousand organizers, immigrant rights groups, students and families staged a spirited and emotionally energized counter protest on the length of the sidewalk in front of the Capitol steps where the Vigilantes held their program. Protecting the vigilante group were various police agencies, including the CHP and Sacramento police, who stood between the dissenting factions. Protesters carried signs demanding an end to terrorism on immigrants and that no human is illegal. Several politicians, including Peter Camejo,Green Party candidate, addressed the crowd of protesters and denounced the proposed measure and the Minutemen. The police, utilizing excessivly brutal force, arrested one demonstrator for standing on the street. Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly supported the Minutemen. Jim Gilchrist, a founder of the Minutemen and the Save Our State Initiative, is planning on a run for Congress in 2006.

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