The leadership of the Minutemen, one of the nations’ most rabidly anti-immigrant organizations is engaged in a knockdown, dragout brawl. According to the Associated Press,

Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court last week after the group’s board of directors fired him and his executive director over allegations of mismanagement and fraud. Gilchrist alleges in the lawsuit that the firings were illegal and that board members also illegally spent Minuteman money, seized its Web site and stole 20,000 pieces of letterhead.

These kinds of disputes are typical of organizations in decline. When things are going great, folks tend to bury their differences. When times get hard, the family fights.

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