GUN PUTZ
Stephen Lemons
Director Pedro Ultreras (left) and Phoenix actor Luis Avila (several pounds lighter) at a recent screening of Ultreras' gripping film, 7 Soles.
Related Content
More About
More proof in my book that wackos who "open-carry" their firearms are often cowards compensating for their shortfalls in other areas: AR-15 slinger Christopher Broughton.
That's the name of the guy who caused all the hubbub recently by bringing a loaded assault rifle to greet President Barack Obama at his address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the Phoenix Convention Center. It was revealed rather quickly that the whole incident was a staged interview, a publicity stunt that successfully put the guy who orchestrated it — libertarian nutjob Ernie Hancock — and his Web site FreedomsPhoenix.com on the news map for about 15 seconds.
But though Broughton, a nerdy, horn-rim-wearing 28-year-old, was badass enough to tote that big gun outside where the Prez was speaking, he was keeping his identity a secret until recently. Indeed, the whole libertarian community was aiding him, referring to him only as Chris or Chris B. in the gun-worshippin' diatribes that hailed him as a hero.
When confronted by the Arizona Republic with his last name, Broughton only reluctantly 'fessed up, saying, aw shucks, he didn't wanna be a celebrity or nothin'. He didn't really want to (echoing the words of Thomas Jefferson) water the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants, as such loonies normally claim.
"I don't want to be Joe the Plumber," he told the Rep. "I don't want to be famous."
But Broughton, who, according to the Federal Elections Commission, once gave moonhowlin' liber-tard-ian Congressman Ron Paul $300 for his presidential run and who listed his profession as "tech mold/apprentice mold maker" (dare to dream!), was singing a slightly different tune during his appearance on conspiracy maven Alex Jones' radio show.
Nah, Broughton wasn't copping to his last name there, either. But he was reveling in the attention from Jones, a man who believes the "global elite" regularly gather at the Bohemian Grove retreat in Northern California to worship Beelzebub or some other occult deity, a man who believes the swine flu vaccine is poison meant for the masses, and who has been a huge supporter of the insanity that 9/11 was an inside job by the George W. Bush administration.
"He's quite a hero to the 2nd Amendment," gushed the paranoid lip-flapper about "Chris."
Broughton advised Jones he was more an "anarchist" than a libertarian and that he was a follower of Tempe Pastor Steven Anderson, the Baptist preacher known for his weird run-ins with the U.S. Border Patrol, the most famous of which got his car window busted into and him Tasered.
The interview was full of exchanges like this one, punctuated by ads Jones does for different survivalist products:
"Fundamentally, we need to all be armed," opined Jones.
"If you're a good, honest person," seconded Broughton, "wouldn't you want to be armed?"
But Broughton's most interesting comments came in response to a caller, Jake in Texas, who suggested that Chris should have told a woman at the Obama event — who had criticized the militaristic accoutrement slung over his shoulder — that he was there to protect the U.S. chief executive.
"You should have said," offered Jake, sarcastically, "'We're actually here to defend the president against assassination from these crazed healthcare maniacs who're just finding what's going on.'"
"To be honest with you," snickered Broughton in reply, "I definitely wasn't there to do that."
Would Broughton and Ernie Hancock and Alex Jones applaud if someone went Lee Harvey Oswald on President Obama. I'm guessing they would as long as they weren't implicated in any way.
The nation is slouching ever closer to a really ugly bout of violence cheered on by gun crazies and self-described "patriots." Remember back in the day when it was considered bad manners — no matter if you hated the guy or not — to wish ill on the president?
Man, how far we've regressed.
LIARS AND LAWYERS
It must be great to be an MCSO deputy. You get to arrest somebody who opposes your boss, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. You get to blow off subpoenas from his attorney and drag out the legal process on the taxpayers' dime. Then, if an angry judge dismisses the case against your target, you can get the county attorney to appeal.
This is apparently what happened in the case of Orlando Arenas, a 28-year-old pro-immigrant community activist who works with various human-rights organizations in town, such as Salvador Reza's Puente. Arenas was near Tent City in February when Arpaio did his infamous "200 Mexican March," segregating Mexican nationals in custody by parading them past TV cameras, all for the greater glory of Arpaio.
Arenas was already well known to Joe's flunkies for his nearly daily presence outside the Wells Fargo Building, where the MCSO keeps two floors of pricey, executive offices and where Puente has kept up a sign-waving, drum-banging protest of the sheriff for about a year now. The MCSO's arrest report for Arenas notes that Deputy Lindsey Smith, who works on the 19th floor of the Wells Fargo Building as part of the sheriff's media staff (or at least used to; she may do something else up there now), told the arresting officers that Arenas, who was quietly filming the event with a video camera, needed to go.
