Alleged 'vigilantes' target Latino voters in Tucson

Alleged 'vigilantes' target Latino voters in Tucson

Yvonne Wingett
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 7, 2006 06:09 PM

Latino voters casting ballots at a south Tucson church on Tuesday were approached by "vigilantes," said the national Hispanic advocacy group, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Diego Bernal (Founding Brother-Alpha Omicron Chapter-Univ. of Michigan), a staff attorney with the organization, was with volunteers at the 49th precinct polling place to answer voters' questions about identity requirements. Reached by cell phone, Bernal said he witnessed three men stop only Latino voters as they entered and exited the polls. Voters were approached by one man carrying a camcorder, one holding a clipboard, and one a holstered gun.

"As one man was going up to the voter with the clipboard, another man was videotaping the interaction,"Bernal said. "At the same time, the third man was walking around with a gun on his waist. They were being provocative. They would have conversations with each other, where they were using mock Spanish accents. It was upsetting."

Tucsonan Russell Dove, an anti-illegal immigration advocate, acknowledged that he and two others were at the 49th precinct. He said he was asking voters to sign a petition to protest that election material is printed in Spanish. The two men that accompanied him were there to record his interactions with people "because there's always a potential for a fight wherever I go." Dove is the editor of the online periodical, "Truth in Action,".

Dove is a vocal activist. In April, he burned a Mexican flag in front of the Mexican Consulate to protest illegal immigration.

Dove, 50, said he went to six or seven precincts in search of signatures. He said he did not intimidate anyone.

"I was taking photos of all voters of all precincts," he said. "Why? Because I can, and because they were there. All the pictures will be compiled and run against a database, and if we find anyone who is illegal, we will do everything within our lawful right to find and expose them."