A convoy of hundreds of people plans to head to the Texas border to stop migrants crossing into the country from Mexico.
The group, called “Take Our Border Back,” is organizing on Telegram and now has more than 1,600 followers.
One of the group’s organizers described them as “God’s army” in a planning call, according to Vice.
“This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God,” one organizer said, per Vice.
Another said: “We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. It is time for the remnant to rise,” they said.
Pete Chambers, a lieutenant colonel organizing the group, has claimed he was a Green Beret. He explained the group’s plans while speaking to conspiracist Alex Jones on his Infowars show on Thursday.
“That’s what Green Berets do. Unconventional warfare is our bread and butter. Now we’re doing domestic internal defense,” Chambers said.
“What gets us to the enemy quickly is to find, fix, and finish, exploit, analyze, and disseminate,” Chambers said, referring to a military process. “That’s what we did in Syria when we took out ISIS really quick.”
He said the group would work with sympathetic members of law enforcement who he described as “constitutionally sound.”
The convoy is due to begin on Monday, starting at Virginia Beach, Virginia and three rallies will be held in San Ysidro, California, Yuma, Arizona, and Eagle Pass, Texas on February 3.
The group has sub-groups on Telegram for drivers and riders in those three states to coordinate rides.
The website describes the event as a “peaceful assembly” inviting all “law-abiding, freedom-loving Americans.”
Wired published an article describing the group as an “armed convoy,” after which the group wrote on Telegram: “We are not making a call to arms. A call to engage with anyone crossing the border. We are here to peacefully protest under our 1st amendment right and pray!”
The group said that one of their goals is to stop illegal immigration immediately and close the border.
It is not clear how the group plans to confront migrants at the border and stop them from entering.
Texas National Guard troops are in a standoff with the federal government after they rolled out razor wire at a park on the bank of the Rio Grande, where migrants often cross.
Chambers described those troops as “holding the line,” and said his convoy would go to an area about 30 miles away.
Rep. Keith Self, a Republican representative from Texas, has said that he supports the convoy.
Tensions have been rising around immigration, and the issue looks likely to be a major one in the presidential election later this year.
Migration levels are reaching record levels, with US officials saying around 300,000 people tried to cross the border in December.
Source: Business Insider
