"Minuteman Project" founder faces possible slander suit over "attempted mur

F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E

"MINUTEMAN PROJECT" FOUNDER FACES POSSIBLE SLANDER
SUIT OVER "ATTEMPTED MURDER" CLAIM

Community activist demands apology from Jim Gilchrist
over "slanderous comments" made at candidate forum

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

ANAHEIM, CA -- Duane Roberts, a community activist who helped organize a counterdemonstration to protest "Minuteman Project" founder Jim Gilchrist's appearance at the Garden Grove Woman's Civic Club on Wednesday, May 25, 2005, is demanding that the wannabe Congressman from Aliso Viejo apologize to him for "slanderous comments" made at a "48th Congressional District Candidate Forum" held at Irvine City Hall early last week.

According to an audio recording of the September 20th forum that was obtained Monday from Kevin Stockdale, Broadcast Media Coordinator for KUCI 88.9 FM, one of two media outlets that broadcast it live over the public airwaves, Gilchrist, an American Independent Party candidate, made the following remarks during his one minute closing statement:

Now regarding the Greenpeace [sic]
party, uh, your claim to non-violence,
I personally was the victim of the
suppression of my First Amendment
Rights, something that I hold
dearly to me and I would literally
die to defend, and your party, Duane
Roberts, of the Green Party in
Anaheim, orchestrated a mayhem --
a riot -- where five of your
Greenpeace [sic] members were arrested
for assault with a deadly weapon,
felony, attempted murder against an
80 year old woman who came to assemble
to hear me speak about the
Minuteman Project.

"If Gilchrist does not apologize for the slanderous comments he's made against me at this candidate forum, I will seriously explore the option of taking legal action against him for slander and defamation of character," Roberts says. "I have no problem with bringing this matter to court because the facts are on my side."

Roberts states: "Gilchrist's allegation that I was involved in a organizing a counterdemonstration where protesters tried to murder an 80 year old woman who came to hear him speak about the 'Minuteman Project' is bald-faced lie. No such incident ever occured on May 25th. No one -- not even the Garden Grove Police -- will back up such garbage."

In response to Gilchrist's allegation that Roberts tried to "orchestrate a mayhem -- a riot" to "suppress" his "First Amendment Rights," he adds:

"It's a well established fact that I sent an email to Garden Grove Police Chief Joe Polisar a couple of days before Gilchrist's appearance to express my interest in working with his department to mitigate the
possibility of violence occuring at the demonstration."

"If it were my true intention of engaging in criminal behavior toward Gilchrist and his supporters, why would I make an effort to contact the Garden Grove Police Chief? So I can tell him about what kind of crimes I was planning to commit that evening?"

Roberts further says that Gilchrist's "slanderous comments" at last week's forum were in direct violation of an ethics statement he signed when he filed papers to become a candidate in the upcoming special election.

"On August 15th, Gilchrist signed a statement at the Orange County Registrar of Voters saying he would abide by a 'Code of Fair Campaign Practices,' pledging -- among other things -- not to 'use or permit the use of character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander, or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or his or her personal family life.'"

"Since his remarks were directed in part toward Bea Tiritilli, the Green Party candidate in the race, I think Gilchrist owes her an apology. He also owes the voters of the 48th Congressional District an explanation as to why he made a decision to break his promise to wage a fair campaign. They too have been victimized by his outrageous behavior."

###