HISTORY OF PBA
In May, 2007, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps President, Chris Simcox, asked Board of Directors member, Bob Wright, to conduct a telephone survey of state leaders to ascertain problems or issues they might be having. In response to this request, Mr. Wright invited all the MCDC Chapter leaders to participate in a group conference call. It became apparent during the course of the conversation that several
of the state leaders were having problems getting repayment for
expenditures on behalf of MCDC, and an accounting for monies that had
been sent to the national office from MCDC website donors. Several said they had been denied any information when they asked for it. Because there were specific questions that applied to several groups, it was decided, after several such phone calls, to ask the national
leadership, specifically, President Simcox, for a meeting at which everyone could get the information they needed and desired.
Since a border watch was scheduled for the weekend of May 11-13, and
Simcox had indicated that he would attend that muster, Wright asked if
he would meet with the group that weekend. Simcox had been on
vacation and was due back in the Phoenix area that weekend. The state
leaders agreed to come to Phoenix at their own expense to facilitate
this meeting. The first request was immediately rebuffed as being out
of line since there was no information provided as to the agenda of
such a meeting and Simcox claimed he would not be available on that
date. Therefore, Wright wrote a most respectful request to Simcox and the Board of Directors of MCDC that included a detailed list of issues
and questions to be addressed and suggesting another date. Executive
Director Al Garza replied that he would, under no circumstances attend
such a meeting. Simcox/Diener Associates responded with an official
letter terminating all those who signed the request for such a meeting
and threatening termination of anyone who would dare to attend such a
meeting. This included four national directors of MCDC. It was
claimed, in this letter, that asking for such a meeting was not
allowed by the MCDC Bylaws. Leaders and members have never been
provided with these Bylaws.
Terminated leaders decided to proceed with the meeting after several
of them wrote individual emails to Simcox appealing to him to please attend and rescind his termination order. Simcox had objected to the
venue originally suggested, so they even arranged for a private hotel meeting room in which to hold the meeting to ensure privacy. MCDC VP
Carmen Mercer had offered to attend the meeting to hear the concerns
but withdrew her offer later. So the meeting was held on Saturday, May 19 in Phoenix with state leaders from Tennessee, Ohio, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas, New Hampshire, Arizona, and Oklahoma.
At this meeting, MCDC volunteer, Jim Campbell, presented the history
of his $100,000 donation to MCDC specifically for a two-layer Israeli style fence on the border that MCDC proposed to build on private ranch
land in May 2006. Since he initially donated his money, a mere 9/10ths of a mile of the fence has been built and he has asked for a
refund of his donation, which was refused. He is now suing MCDC for a refund of his original donation as well as damages.
This was shocking news to everyone in attendance and brought up new
concerns by leaders who have assisted MCDC in obtaining donations both
for this fence and for political candidates. It later came to light
that very little of the political monies being collected is going to
the actual candidates and that inordinate amounts are being paid to
Diener Associates, American Caging, Freedom Alliance, and several
administrative groups that provide logistic support to MCDC. The
leaders expressed their dismay at having been a part in misleading the
public in obtaining these charitable donations. Primarily because of
this concern, several stated that they could not, in good conscience, continue to support an organization that is misleading the public in
their donations and refusing to provide financial accountability to
the state leaders.
There was great concern that bringing these issues to light would
demean MCDC, Simcox, and the cause for which all were devoted: that
of protecting our borders. Several expressed their fear that such
negative news would adversely impact current efforts to overturn
amnesty legislation. There was no happiness at the end of the meeting
since all regretted that these facts would probably mean the end of
the credibility MCDC. There was no effort to usurp the organization
by any individual or group just a revelation of the facts. Many felt
deeply hurt that their leader, Simcox, would turn on them as if they
were enemies, just because they sought the truth. Simcox has since
fallaciously demeaned all these state and national leaders as trying
to take over MCDC on his website and accused them of various
infractions as an excuse for their terminations. He has also denied
that they were terminated, that they quit. The termination letters prove that this is not true.
It was agreed that everyone would go home to their state chapters and
relay the facts they had learned and let their members decide what to
do next. Meanwhile, the leaders agreed to meet again in conference
calls to share their findings and decisions. By this time, the
general membership of MCDC was hearing about the treatment of the
state leadership and starting to ask questions. As a result, many
states decided to withdraw from MCDC and to form their own state
organizations independent of MCDC.
The question now arose as to what could these state groups do about
border watches and to work for the cause of stopping illegal immigration? After numerous long conference calls between the state
and national MCDC Board Directors who were also terminated, including
Bob Wright, it was decided to put the information found out on a
website and to determine the interest and to try to form an organization that could provide an alliance where state and other
groups could gather to work on the border and other national issues.
On July 9, 2007, an election was held via conference call/email and a
board of five directors was elected. That Board met with leaders of
the American Border Patrol to discuss the possibility of working
together on border watches. After an amenable meeting, it was decided
to proceed with incorporation of a new organization called Patriots'
Border Alliance to provide a place for members and groups of dedicated Minutemen to continue their service to the country.
Incorporation papers were filed on July 23, 2007 in New Mexico. The
Bylaws were written and are posted for all to see on the PBA website. PBA will be a transparent organization for its members and donors. Volunteers will be treated as valuable assets and respected, no matter what their questions might be. Donors may feel assured that their
donations will go towards the actual cause for which it is solicited.
PBA aims to recapture to true patriotic spirit of the Minuteman concept.
For more information about PBA's history and to view the timeline leading up to its founding, head to OUR LIBRARY.