Fascist thugs stormed the stage and attacked Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist at Columbia University: At Columbia, Students Attack Minuteman Founder.

Students stormed the stage at Columbia University’s Roone auditorium yesterday, knocking over chairs and tables and attacking Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen, a group that patrols the border between America and Mexico.

Mr. Gilchrist and Marvin Stewart, another member of his group, were in the process of giving a speech at the invitation of the Columbia College Republicans. They were escorted off the stage unharmed and exited the auditorium by a back door.

Having wreaked havoc onstage, the students unrolled a banner that read, in both Arabic and English, “No one is ever illegal.” As security guards closed the curtains and began escorting people from the auditorium, the students jumped from the stage, pumping their fists, chanting victoriously, “Si se pudo, si se pudo,” Spanish for “Yes we could!”

Columbia’s student TV has posted video of this disgrace at YouTube:

Youtube Video

UPDATE at 10/5/06 8:16:03 am:

The disgusting children at New York Indymedia are gloating, and trying to portray themselves as the victims: Mini-Riot at Columbia as Minutemen Forced Off Stage.

Statement from the stage-stormers
Oct 05, 2006 12:48AM EDT
David dkalkin@gmail.com

The following short statement was put together collectively after the event by the audience members who had climbed up onto the stage:

We celebrate free speech: for that reason we allowed the Minutemen to speak, and for that same reason we peacefully occupied the stage and spoke ourselves. Our peaceful protest was violently attacked by members of the College Republicans and their supporters, who are the very same people who invited the Minutemen to our campus in the first place. The Minutemen are not a legitimate voice in the debate on immigration. They are a racist, armed militia who have declared open hunting season on immigrants, causing countless hate crimes and over 3000 deaths on the border. Why should exploitative corporations have free passes between nations, but individual people not? No human being is illegal.