Posted on May 24, 2006

Utah Minutemen Protest Vicente Fox’s Visit to SLC

Lisa Rosetta, Salt Lake Tribune, May 24, 2006

Toting American flags and waving large banners, about 100 people assembled in front of the Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday night, yelling and chanting at Mexican President Vicente Fox’s motorcade as he arrived for the State Dinner.

“Go back to Mexico, Fox, we don’t want you here!” one man yelled. “Take care of your own people, Fox! Take care of your own citizens so they don’t have to come here!”

Standing behind yellow police tape near the edge of the sidewalk, the demonstrators, most of them Utah Minutemen, cheered as drivers on South Temple honked their horns and waved, signaling their support.

Other drivers crept along, their windows rolled down, and waved — with one finger.

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Wally McCormick, a Utah Minuteman who visited the U.S.-Mexico border in April 2005, said American families there carry guns on their hips and live in constant fear. Mexicans knock on their doors in the middle of the night, demanding food, water and liquor.

McCormick and Darrel Wood, another Minuteman who visited the border, said they’re angry Fox is in Utah, dining with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and initiating political dialogue.

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