Park ranger cites border civilian patrol leader

[AZTOY]

...1:52 pm Jan 27, 2003
Park ranger cites border civilian patrol leader


Tim Steller
© 2003 Arizona Daily Star


A National Park Service ranger on Sunday cited Chris Simcox, leader of a Cochise County border militia, for carrying a loaded weapon and operating without a permit at Coronado National Memorial.

The chief ranger at the park south of Sierra Vista, Thane Weigand, said it appeared Simcox and William Dore were conducting a patrol of the border.

"They were doing a special activity inside the park that's not sanctioned by the park," Weigand said.

Simcox, founder of the Tombstone group Civil Homeland Defense, has been conducting citizen patrols of the border area, but this morning he said that's not what he was doing Sunday afternoon. He said he was simply hiking with Dore.

They were driving along Border Road when they came to a fence with a sign that said no vehicles were permitted. So they parked the van and walked past the fence along the road, not knowing the fence was the park boundary, Simcox said.

"Next thing I know, there's somebody waiting in the bushes for us," Simcox said. It was a park ranger, who said she had been watching the pair, knew who they were and what they were up to, Simcox said.

He and Dore were detained for about 3 1/2 hours, and some belongings were seized, Simcox said. Those belongings included a scanner, two two-way radios, his camera, a cellphone and his pistol.

Weigand said the charges against Simcox and Dore are misdemeanors.

http://regulus.azstarnet.com/hourlyupdate/pm_story.php?id=7

 

[El Tejon]

Enforcers of the law allegedly breaking the law? Isn't that what the doughy types running around in the bugs and weeds calling themselves the Last, Best Hope for Freedom gripe about all the time anywho?

 

[Beren]

Shouldn't the park rangers be out there keeping illegal aliens from entering the country through the park, or is that a silly question on my part?

Yup, I'm sure she knew who they were and were glad not to miss a target of opportunity.

Words cannot express my disgust at the continuation of our ineffective police state.

 

[Waitone]

Its easier to entrap and detain an American citizen than it is to entrap and detain an illegal alien illegally crossing the US in a national park.

Once again we see the mentality of a statist.

BTW, you hadda know the federales were gunning for the guy. He has to be discredited to keep this border fiasco from going critical.

 

[Zander]

The chief ranger at the park south of Sierra Vista, Thane Weigand, said it appeared Simcox and William Dore were conducting a patrol of the border.

Of course they were, ranger...the fools under your "command" won't.

That's what happens when "public lands" are overseen by federal employees who have no obligation to answer to those who own those lands...the taxpaying citizens of the USA.

Here's a call to do the obvious...take back control of the majority of "gov't-owned" land by insisting it be returned to the rightful owners...

Us!

Anybody in agreement?

 

[Huntersun]

This is truly pathetic;

"They were doing a special activity inside the park that's not sanctioned by the park," Weigand said.

"Next thing I know, there's somebody waiting in the bushes for us," Simcox said. It was a park ranger, who said she had been watching the pair, knew who they were and what they were up to, Simcox said.

I hope the fight this as far as it will go. Looks to me that it will show the pure incompetence of this Park Ranger.

 

[TallPine]

"They were doing a special activity inside the park that's not sanctioned by the park," Weigand said.

Hiking is a special activity ....?

Gosh, I must be a REAL criminal. considering all of the time I've spent hiking on NF and BLM lands.

I treat them just like I own them.

 

[DeltaElite]

I agree with these guys in theory, but they are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
If they are doing "patrol" shouldn't they know the area and that they were going into a monument where they can't carry their weapons?
Duhhhhhhhhh, what's the fence for? Duhhhhhhhhhh
A GPS and a map would have told them where they were.
All they have achieved was to make their organization look even more foolish by violating a law.

Honestly, I am not impressed with these guys.

 

[hammer4nc]

I did a little search on the CNM, here's an interesting link... http://www.palominas.com/border01.htm

For those who are quick to question Simcox's motives and/or intelligence...when campared to Mr. Bellamy, who is the CNM Park Superintendent, he looks like Albert Einstein...

Salient points from the above link:

This year’s $728,000 budget for the memorial does not include enough funds to pay for cleanup, so the National Park Service depends on volunteers to pick up trash left by illegal immigrants, the superintendent said.

So, apparently volunteer patrols to clean up trash left by illegal aliens is a "permitted activity", but any help to discourage said traffic is immediately cited? Someone explain the logic here?

Also, The border patrol wants to put up observation towers to track illegals, and Bellamy is concerned because the towers will be "a visual problem for visitors!!!" Huh???

The Border Patrol has indicated it would like to put up seven more towers to control the border in Cochise County. There are already a number of surveillance towers along the Douglas-Naco corridor on the American side of the border. The Border Patrol also has approached the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to put a tower up on the San Pedro National Conservation Riparian Area.

Bellamy said it would be some time before any tower would go up on the memorial because the proposal has to go through an environmental assessment.

Ineffective bureaucratic piddling, and malicious prosecution of any real help on illegals, is apparently much more important to these "officials", than actually doing something about the problem, is my take on the whole issue. Opposing viewpoints welcome, however.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The federal government is obviously more concerned about law-abiding American citizens with firearms than illegal aliens.

 

[Erik]

Rangers cite individuals for carrying in the parks they patrol.

No news flash there, folks.

The CHDers should have paid more attention to where they were.

 

[clem]

"there's somebody waiting in the bushes for us" ????



Sounds like a set-up. With the name Simcox, you can bet the ranger was thinking, $$$$$$$$, just in media attention alone and that's why a citation was issued.

 

[Bottom Gun]

Apparently cameras, radios and cell phones are forbidden in National Monuments too.
Looks like the local Gestapo is going to harrass this guy into submission.
FWIW, I carry a sidearm all the time when I'm in the parks and monuments and have never been bothered by Rangers.
This really stinks.

 

[Leatherneck]

Apparently cameras, radios and cell phones are forbidden in National Monuments too.

WHAAAATTT?
Can you cite a reference for that? I can't believe it.
TC
TFL Survivor

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I have to side with the Ranger on this. Simcox seems to be an idiot. He comes to a fence and there is a sign that apparently doesn't identify the property as the park, but it says vehicles are not permitted so he doesn't drive the vehicle. So Simcox didn't know where he was and apparently figured he was just going to be trespassing on some other landowner's property when he mistakenly went onto Federal property.

On top of that, he is mad because his situational awareness was so darned poor that he got nabbed by a Park Ranger who was on patrol. Oh sure, it is okay for him to go snooping around and crossing property lines with a gun to look for people breaking the law but when he gets caught doing it, it isn't fair. Baloney!

If the guy was dumb enough to go crossing fences and not know where he is, then he got off lucky. Why lucky? Because some of the land owners down in there have been shooting at people on their property whom they assume to be illegal aliens. Simcox could easily have been blasted by a property owner while trespassing.

If you want to do that whole citizen patrol thing, great! But do it properly and not like some gun nut idiot lost in the countryside and carrying a gun. :banghead:

My guess is that Simcox, with that high level of situational awareness and comprehension for where he is has not managed to nab too many illegal aliens. Go figure.

So, two way radios and scanners? Hmmm. Citizen patrol or helping transport drugs or illegal aliens across the border?

 

[Coronach]

Double Naught-

You have forgotten the salient points of this:

1. The guy is a gun owner.

2. This involves the federal government.

I mean, Simcox has to be right. It just remains to figure out how. You, apparently, didn't get the memo.

Mike

 

[Bottom Gun]

Leatherneck,

Those items plus a scanner were seized by the Ranger along with the guy's gun.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Ok let's calm down everyone.
The Ranger in question did something here to enhance her safety.

She disarmed an American citizen.

Everybody know it's durn rare that an American citizen shoots at a park ranger so it was very safe for her to walk right up and disarm and arrest these guys.

Many dope-packing Mexicans, OTOH, sneaking across the border will and do try to shoot the tar out of BP and anyone else that gets in their way.

Smart lady! Pick on the easy....honest...safe....ones. And then sit in the office half the day while they get "processed".

S-

 

[El Tejon]

Coronach, do you think that this Last, Best Hope for Freedom will get off on a brilliant Motion to Dismiss based on fringe on the flag in federal district court?

 

[Coronach]

El Tejon-

I'm going to go with "no."

Mike

 

[hammer4nc]

Sounds like the park management has parlayed the illegal immigrant thing into a cash cow for upcoming budget requests.

What kind of "idiot" would dare upset that well-layed plan? Heck, if I didn't know better, I'd think the illegal alien thing was actually a "problem" in Arizona? Fringers? Yuk-yuk...

 

[Delmar]

It's been a long time since I read the rules, but IIRC, a person employing illegal aliens is subject to arrest and prison?
True enough-Simcox certainly may need a pathfinder or two, but common sense ought to tell ANYONE wandering out in the wild to carry a firearm, period.

 

[Cosmoline]

And guess who runs the National Memorials?

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Talk about occupied territory. I will never set foot on their land until that agency is properly DISSOLVED and its lands either handed over the states or at the very least to a more responsible agency like the National Forest Service.

The Park Service believes we should only be allowed to see our parks on organized tour groups. Up here, they've made Denali and Katmai into bizarre travesties.

 

[clem]

Read it for yourselves:


Tucson Citizen

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/1_28_03simcox_arrest.html


Arizona "Red" Star
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/30128SIMCOXCITATION.html


It's still a set-up.

 

[DeltaElite]

Sounds like a set up, but Dumb and Dumber allowed it to happen due to their own outright stupidity.

FWIW, I wouldn't go near the border unarmed.