Minutemen Leader Sued for Calling Activist Slut, Prostitute

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-03-09 09:49:00 UTC
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Jeff Schwilk, leader of the nativist extremist group the San Diego Minutemen (SDMM), just can't seem to keep his misogynistic, racist mouth in check.

Schwilk was first hit with a defamation suit for circulating photos of Joanne Yoon, a 24-year-old student who attended SDMM rallies on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, with commentary attacking her as a slut; creating a Yahoo group slandering her as a "Korean Kommie Kunt"; and accusing her of fighting for immigrant rights due to a desire for "Brown Schlong." (I'm going to try to ignore the many overcompensation/penis envy jokes that spring to mind. But maybe "minute men" has another, uh, stamina-related meaning in this case?) Schwilk was ordered to pay $135,000 in damages last year.

Now, he's being sued again for circulating a video to 1000 people that he claims shows Yoon admitting to being a "prostitute" and "hooker" -- except that the woman in the video isn't Yoon. Oops. But hey, maybe it was an honest mistake; Schwilk can't help it if all Asians just look the same to his racist brain. The Southern Poverty Law Center dubs Schwilk "the adult equivalent of a small child who burns his finger on a stove and – learning nothing from the experience – does it again."

Schwilk and other SDMM members are known for using slurs to refer to immigrants like "wetbacks" and "putas" (whores), and calling female immigrant rights activists "commie bitches" and "commie cunts." There's also a domestic abuse accusation against Schwilk, an honor he shares with Chris Simcox, leader of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps. This racist and misogynistic hate speech and violence against women is in addition to SDMM's other extremist tactics, such as chasing down employers who hire day laborers with fake police lights, threatening passing motorists who disagree with their tactics with mace, ripping up sleeping bags and makeshift shelters in an migrant camp, and harassing and assaulting immigrants.

Photo credit: littledan77

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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