The trial of a former border vigilante accused of sex crimes against children is underway in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Chris Simcox, one of the founders of the Minuteman organization, promised the jury he will take the stand in his own defense. Also a former kindergarten teacher, Simcox is representing himself after spending about 1,100 days in jail awaiting trial.
Simcox’s lack of courtroom experience was clear during opening arguments, when the judge sustained all three objections prosecutors made to his statements. The objections continued when Simcox cross examined the first witness, though some were overruled.
Prosecutors argued that Simcox satisfied his love for little girls by sexually abusing them.
Simcox responded that if the jury of four women and 12 men listen to both sides, the state’s case “will collapse like a house of cards.”
The trial is expected to take about a month.
The Minutemen set up surveillance groups along the Mexico border in Southern Arizona to root out immigrants trying to cross into the U.S. illegally.
