According to a lawsuit, the members of AZ Patriots sought to “intimidate” churches and their leaders and volunteers by “yelling at the people who were working at the churches.”/Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star 2018
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
An attorney for the Patriot Movement says the group and its members can’t be sued in federal court for harassing migrants and those helping them because the plaintiffs are aiding them in violating federal immigration laws.
In a new court filing, Edward Rose Jr. says volunteers from churches and nonprofit organizations are acting with “unclean hands” in their lawsuit against Patriot Movement AZ. What that legal doctrine means, in essence, is that those who are complaining about the activities of Patriot Movement members cannot seek relief from the courts because they, too, have done something wrong.
“We had these immigrants,” Rose told Capitol Media Services.
“As you know from all the reports, they’re all falsifying claims of political asylum,” he continued. “And I think the plaintiffs knew that and they still aided them.”
Larry Wulkan, one of the attorneys representing the churches and the volunteers, said there’s no basis for such a claim.
“Our clients provided food, clothing and basic medical care to people who are in this country with permission of the United States government,” he said, having been dropped off by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “It’s incredible to suggest that the defendants should be excused from breaking the law under such circumstances.”
But the claim of unclean hands isn’t the only basis on which Rose is asking U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi to throw out the case.
