Finally, after nearly two years, a jury in Pima County, Arizona convicted Minuteman member Shawna Forde for her role in the murders of 9 year-old Brisenia Flores and her father, Raul. Elisa Foley from the Huffington Post reports:
A jury convicted Forde of planning and executing the raid that led to the deaths of Raul and Brisenia Flores, and of the attempted murder of Gina Gonzales, the child’s mother (she survived the attack). Forde was also convicted on two counts of aggravated assault and counts of burglary, armed robbery and aggravated robbery.
Dave Neiwert of Crooks and Liars, who was there as the verdict came out, describes Forde’s seemingly unfeeling attitude:
Strangely, Forde was almost perfectly emotionless: She looked straight ahead, chatted with her attorneys, and even smiled occasionally. Indeed, she continued to exude the bravado that has been her style from the outset — even as she was led back out of the courtroom to her awaiting prison cell.
In May 2009, Forde and two other gunmen from the anti-immigrant group, Minuteman American Defense (MAD), broke into the Flores’ home in Arizona. Prosecutors say Forde planned the attack to steal money from the Flores family in order to finance her anti-immigrant operation. Gina Gonzalez claims that Brisenia pleaded with her killers to spare her life and asked why they had killed her father.