Second armed civilian on the border arrested this week

John Foerster, a felon, was charged with having a weapon and arrested in Brownsville. John Foerster, a felon, was charged with having a weapon and arrested in Brownsville. Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close Second armed civilian on the border arrested this week 1 / 50 Back to Gallery

BROWNSVILLE — For a second time this week, a member of a controversial group of armed civilians patrolling the border for undocumented immigrants near this city was arrested, court records show.

Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested John Frederick Foerster, 44, of Brownsville on Tuesday on a charge of felon in possession of a weapon, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for the Southern District.

Foerster has a history of run-ins with the law, including pleading guilty to felony burglary in 2001 in Cameron County, and was sent to prison, records show.

Foerster later pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a switchblade and knuckles, a misdemeanor.

But Foerster's recent troubles began Aug. 29, when a Border Patrol agent chasing immigrants thought to be entering the country illegally encountered him near the banks of the Rio Grande. Foerster was armed, and the agent fired several rounds at him.

Foerster was among those at Camp Lonestar, a 21-acre private ranch a short distance from the Rio Grande that became the base for the armed civilians known as American Patriots. They took it upon themselves to look out for undocumented immigrants crossing the river.

Though some locals support their efforts, others in the community have expressed concern about the presence of armed strangers who sometimes fired their weapons.

The incident with the Border Patrol agent put Camp Lonestar at odds with law enforcement.

Separately, federal agents arrested Kevin Lyndel Massey, 48, on Monday, also on the same federal weapons charge as Foerster.

Massey, who is from Quinlan in North Texas, has been a vocal member of the American Patriots in Brownsville.

Massey was convicted of burglary in 1988.

Foerster and Massey are just the latest Patriots to have a brush with law enforcement in South Texas.

In September, another American Patriot was arrested on a felony charge after he allegedly left a 9 mm handgun, for which he carried no license, in a convenience store bathroom.

When another American Patriot attempted to claim ownership of the weapon, he was charged with a misdemeanor for making a false report to Cameron County sheriff's investigators.

anelsen@express-news.net

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