Just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, ‘Little Dog,’ ‘Weasel’ and other militia members keep an eye out for migrants

 

Robert Crooks is up before sunrise on a hill he calls “Patriot Point,” walkie-talkie in hand and loaded semiautomatic handgun holstered on his right hip.

To protect himself, he wears a vest padded with National Geographic magazines — including one celebrating great white sharks.

Directly in front of him is a border wall made of steel landing mats left over from the Vietnam War. Just a few hundred feet from the Mexican border, Crooks scans the landscape for any sign of an immigrant trying to cross into the United States.

A Las Vegas resident, Crooks heads the Mountain Minutemen. Along with other militia members in Texas, his group has been gearing up as thousands of migrants from Central America steadily make their way to the U.S. border to ask for asylum.

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