DELUSIONS OF SIGNIFICANCE:

The KFYI Investigators go on the front lines to bring you - first hand - the story of the Minuteman Project. Check out the daily Minuteman Blog, with pictures, along the border and from the frontlines. Coming soon... exclusive Minuteman photos! (Steven Gregory, KFYI)

I meet up with the Minutemen from Colorado..they have a couple guys with them from California...one of them hands me a micro-cassette player to listen to...on it, a personal account of spotting a 150 pound brown bear in the Coconino National Forest earlier that day..then, an interview with woman who was walking her dogs along a stretch of road near the border....the tape is hard to hear because of the high wind noise...but, I'm able to hear the woman explain how hard it is for her to live in the area...she's been there for years and in the last 6 years it's gotten worse...her dogs bark every night because of all of the activity...she wears a bandana to prevent her identity being exposed to the drug cartel...if they see her talking with anyone, especially the law or media, they will retaliate by killing or torturing her dogs, or worse, burn her house down. There's a code of silence that surrounds the area...landowners are intimidated into submission buy the violent drug cartel. I dub the audio to my recorder for use in news stories.
By now, it's time for another live interview...this time, KFBK in Sacramento, CA.....and WRVA in West Virginia......It's funny that most everyone starts each interview with phrases like, "So Steve...you're embedded with a group of vigilantes along the border?" Or, "Hello Steve, tell us what it's like being with the Minutemen Militia" It's no wonder people never trust the media....I assure you, there's no evidence (at least from what I can tell) that there's a militia here...sure, there's a few people with guns..but, they're mostly retired law enforcement, military and in some cases....active law enforcement / military.
Time for dinner....this time, I venture off campus to a steak and ribs joint down the way on highway 92....it's called the Bright Spot, and let me tell you...some of the best baby back ribs I've ever had!!! I stop off to fuel the KFYI News truck, pick up some snacks and head back to Camp Minuteman.....I'm in my room only 10 minutes when I hear a woman walking down the hall, knocking on every door announcing loudly that there's an emergency meeting in the lobby in 15 minutes.....curious, I head to the lobby where people are already gathering.....Jim Gilchrist walks in with a very stern look on his face, pacing back and forth silent for a few moments when he says...."Listen...earlier today we received a credible threat hand delivered to Chris Simcox...it says to expect 24 Mexican activists to 'rush' the border near Naco....this is to taunt, tease and engage the Minutemen...the intent is to prompt one of the volunteers to start violence, or shoot....under no circumstances are you to do either...do I make myself clear?" "Yes, sir!!!" The crowd shouts.......Jim goes on to explain that their intel says this is most likely a diversion tactic to force the Minutemen to the section of the border where the 'rush' will take place...and while that's happening...A Mexican gang will launch an assault on the Minuteman Compound and Headquarters. Well, that certainly got the attention of every person in the room....there was a brief silence then, everyone started to speak at once...Jim finally got everyone to quiet down, then, introduced one of the heads of security for the MMP...this man begins a quick lesson on how to defend yourself against a frontal charge/assault....a lesson on drawing your weapon with a 21 foot distance threshold....and a lesson on how to thwart a knife attack. This man then introduced another man who filled us in on the plan to secure the compund...how they will fortify the area with additional armed security, and place makeshift sensors around the area to detect when someone, or something, enters our perimeter.