An Arizona rancher who has waged a five-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal aliens from crossing his property has been ordered by a civil jury to pay nearly $100,000 for a 2004 incident during which he confronted a family hunting on his land.
Roger Barnett, 62, who began rounding up illegal aliens after he said they destroyed his property, killed calves and broke into his home, was ordered to pay Ronald Morales, his father, his two young daughters and their friend on claims of negligence, false imprisonment and emotional distress.
The jury found in favor of all five plaintiffs, but split responsibility between Mr. Barnett, Mr. Morales and his father, Arturo Morales.
The Morales family had sought $210,000 damages in a lawsuit sponsored by two civil rights groups, the Border Action Network and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which accused Mr. Barnett of vigilantism and abusing the illegal aliens he detained. The jury settled on a damage award of $98,000.
“This is an historic moment,” said Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network. “This victory is just the beginning. We can guarantee that every official who tried to sweep this case and issue under the rug and who still has the capacity of bringing criminal charges will hear from us.”
Two other lawsuits brought against Mr. Barnett with the assistance of the Border Action Network were dismissed. A lawsuit filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is pending, naming Mr. Barnett, his wife and brother, and Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, in a conspiracy to violate the rights of illegal aliens.
During the Morales trial, Mr. Barnett denied threatening the party, testifying that he only took out his AR-15 rifle because the adults in the group were carrying rifles. He also denied accusations by Ronald Morales that he had insulted them with racial slurs and threatened to shoot them.
Mr. Barnett’s brother, Donald, said in a statement: “In the Morales family, the father taught the son to trespass, and now the father’s teaching the daughters how to trespass in blatant disregard for the law. I guess in this country, private property and a person’s rights don’t mean much any more.”
Donald Barnett had been named in the lawsuit, but later was dropped as a defendant.
Mr. Barnett’s Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., has become a major route for northbound illegal aliens. The ranch sits in what Cochise County law enforcement authorities have called “the avenue of choice” for illegal aliens.
“Thousands of aliens have crossed my property,” Mr. Barnett told The Washington Times in a September 2002 interview at his ranch. “There are so many that I can tell you that at times it looks like a slow-motion invasion.”
Mr. Barnett said some of his cattle have died from ingesting plastic bottles left behind by the aliens and that some of the ranch’s trails were littered with trash nearly a foot deep.
A former Cochise County sheriff’s deputy who later was successful in the towing and propane business, Mr. Barnett spent $30,000 on electronic sensors, hidden along established trails on his ranch. He searches the ranch for illegal aliens in a pickup truck, dressed in a green shirt and camouflage hat, with his handgun and rifle, high-powered binoculars and a walkie-talkie to communicate.
His actions have made him a target of alien and drug smugglers in Mexico. Law-enforcement authorities told him the smugglers had placed a bounty on his head.
“This is my land. I’m the victim here,” Mr. Barnett said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.