 "Photo: Joe Buglewicz")
Police escorted five protestors outside during a Tuesday evening speech by Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, arresting one and detaining another, said University spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon.
The Young Conservatives of Texas hosted Simcox, who spoke at the Geology Building. Constant chants and heckling from demonstrators hindered Simcox's speech, resulting in the police's intervention.
Weldon said one individual was arrested with a criminal trespassing charge, and another was detained briefly for "interfering with a police officer."
The Minuteman Corps, which consists of citizen volunteers, aids in the discovery of illegal border activity using video surveillance, according to the organization's Web site. Minutemen are required to complete a training session in which they are informed about immigration laws, educated about contacting congressmen and trained in night vision and radio techniques, said Clark Kirby, director of the Texas branch.
However, the organization has been called a vigilante group with the potential for violence and human rights violations by opposing organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union. No official reports of violence by the organization have been reported.
The Texas chapter, active since 2004, is the largest and most successful Minuteman unit extending from Rio Grande City to Hidalgo, Texas, Kirby said. He said volunteers range from business professionals to truck drivers.
It took administrators 10 minutes to quiet the chants of approximately 30 people attending the event.
Protestors shouted, "When I say racist, you say out! Racist! Out! When I say Simcox, you say out! Simcox! Out!"
Associate Dean of Students Margarita Arellano warned the demonstrators three times before police officers escorted the individuals out of the building.
"We have a duty to uphold free speech here," she said.
Austin resident Connor Reed, 26, helped lead the protestors' shouts during the event.
"I think an attack on immigrants is an attack on native-born people," he said, "An attack on a part is an attack on the whole."
Simcox stood silently, arms crossed behind his back until the chants subsided.
"I don't blame the well-intentioned men and women who are coming here for a better life or for [the lives] of their families. I would do the same thing," he said. "Actually, what I am doing now is revolting against my government in a peaceful way using the system, and that's the way we work as a nation."
Government sophomore Elizabeth Young, chairman of UT's YCT chapter, said the campus organization believes the Minutemen are doing what the government won't do.
"We view them as freedom fighters," she said.
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