Neo-Nazi who called for landmines on border heads to the desert, armed



Neo-Nazi J.T. Ready talks about his plan to patrol the Arizona desert. Courtesy KPNX

See the flier

This is the flier neo-Nazi J.T. Ready handed out at the “Stand With Arizona” rally on May 29. Contact information on it has been redacted by Heat City. This is the flier neo-Nazi J.T. Ready handed out at the “Stand With Arizona” rally on May 29. Contact information on it has been redacted by Heat City. Click for larger image.



Just three weeks ago at a tea party rally in Tempe, he handed out fliers calling for landmines to be placed along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing into Arizona.

Now, neo-Nazi J.T. Ready says he plans to lead an armed group into the desert south of Phoenix this weekend to put a stop to what he called “narco-terrorists.”

Ready appeared decked out in camouflage during an interview Wednesday with KPNX (Channel 12). He showed off a stockpile of guns and ammunition he plans to take with him and claimed his group will stake out an area of Pinal County that drug smugglers use as a route to bring “chemical warfare into Phoenix.”

Ready has grabbed more traction with local media in recent months as the debate over illegal immigration heats up. He has also appeared frequently at rallies and protests in support of Arizona’s new immigration law, hoping to attract supporters to his cause.

That was no different on May 29 at the “Stand With Arizona” rally in Tempe, an event organized by several tea party groups.

Ready was there handing out fliers for the Mesa chapter of the National Socialist Movement, the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States.

The fliers carried Ready’s name and a picture of a landmine. “We all should be actively advocating daily to mainstream America the most humane, non-racist, fair border security plan available,” they said. “Namely, A MINEFIELD!”

The flier, photocopied on plain-white paper, carried the letters “N.S.M.” as well as the address for post office box in Mesa, a local phone number and an email address that contained the number 88, a neo-Nazi code meaning “Heil Hitler.”

Ready and another man told Heat City that night they handed out 1,000 fliers at the event but were having little success getting their message across.

Ready has a history of engaging in armed confrontation with immigrants.

When he was running for Mesa City Council in 2006 — a race in which he came in second place — he followed a vehicle down a dead-end street and corned a Hispanic man who later turned out to be an illegal immigrant.

Ready said the man opened fire on him with a BB gun, and he returned fire with a .38 revolver he pulled from an ankle holster.

Both escaped injury and police arrested the other man that night. A month later, the man pleaded guilty to giving a false name to authorities.

The fact that the man received such a minor charge upset Ready, who told the judge overseeing the case that the other man should have been convicted of assault. Ready called it at the time “a travesty of justice.”