An Internet company will force one of its Web site clients to stop encouraging harassment of the Minutemen project that cracks down on illegal immigrants along the Arizona border. The Scottsdale-based Go Daddy Group said the Swarmtheminuteman.com site, which has been on the Web for less than one week, could face being shut down unless it complies.
Swarmtheminutemen.com reportedly is encouraging people to go into the desert border areas to blast their radios or bang pots and pans together in an effort to confuse and harass Minutemen volunteers.
The Web site also prompts site visitors to engage in activities such as sending repetitive anonymous e-mails and fax messages to the Minutemen, and other ideas to disrupt the project.
The Minutemen program has operated in Arizona as a private border enforcement group, relaying information about illegal border crossers to authorities.
Hundreds of people from across the country went on patrol in April in a display that received international media attention, and project organizers said smaller operations were still continuing.
More than 60 Minuteman volunteers went back on patrol last weekend between Miller and Ash canyons and helped in the capture of 17 illegal immigrants Saturday night.
Gary Cole, operations manager for the Minutemen, said the organization has filed a complaint with the FBI about the web site but interference with border patrolling has been a minor annoyance so far.
"We ran an operation this weekend, a very successful one," Cole said.