Carlos Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights, and anti-war movements. He was a co-founder of the

Brown Berets The Brown Berets (Spanish: ''Los Boinas Cafés'') is a pro-Chicano paramilitary organization that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the United States during the late 1960s. David Sanchez and Carlos Montes co-founded the group modeled af ...

, a

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

working class youth organization in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The Brown Berets were inspired by and often compared to the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

. Montes was one of the leaders of the Chicano Blowouts, a series of

walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

s of

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

high schools to protest against racism and inequality in Los Angeles-area high schools, and the drafting of Chicanos into the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He is portrayed by Fidel Gomez in the 2006 HBO movie ''

Walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

''. He has been facing charges since 2011 on a firearms violation that he and supporters insist is unsubstantiated and politically motivated, intended to stifle dissent.

Early political work

The agenda of the Brown Berets was to fight police harassment, inadequate public schools, inadequate health care, inadequate job opportunities, minority education issues, the lack of political representation, and the

. It had a 13-point program that included self-determination for Chicanos. It set up branches in Texas, New Mexico, New York, Florida, Chicago, St. Louis and other metropolitan areas with Chicano populations. Montes was indicted twice for the ELA Blowout (he was one of the East LA 13) and later with ten others for conspiracy to commit arson by the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

at a demonstration against then Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1969. After threats against his life and beatings by the police and many arrests on false charges, he went underground and lived in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

, Mexico, and later in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, where he did organized labor. He was rearrested in Monterey Park, California in May 1977 and tried. However, with a competent legal defense (provided by attorneys Miguel Garcia and Steve Sanora), community support and a defense committee he was found not guilty of all charges. The Walkout indictment was dismissed as unconstitutional.

Recent political work

Montes remains an activist and is a leader of Centro CSO, Legalization for All Network and Latinos Against War, a Latino

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

organization based in Los Angeles and a member of the immigrant advocacy group the Southern California Immigration Coalition. With the 2003 Bush administration war and occupation of Iraq, Montes helped form and lead L.A. Latinos Against War. He helped to organize protests against the September 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. In December 2008, Montes was a founding member of the Southern California Immigration Coalition, to fight against

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...

(ICE) and police repression; and to organize the yearly May 1 marches and rallies to demand full legalization. He continues to fight to defend public education and helped to lead the fight to keep Garfield High School public, his ''alma mater'' in ELA. He is also currently active in the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. On May 7, Montes along with other members of the Legalization for All Network announced their support for the Dump Trump protest. This continues Montes work to support the anti-war movement as well as to continue his fight towards equality and justice for all. His announcement came along with a powerful statement, "Dump Trump and his racist attacks must be our call to action! His rhetoric of hate is blaming immigrants, especially Latinos, for the suffering of the working people. This suffering is in fact caused by the billionaire class that Trump represents. We say 'Dump Trump' and march on the RNC", that reassures the fight against oppression and inequality.

Current political activity

Montes has been organizing against

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

raids that were deemed unnecessary which tend to focus on dismantling and preventing activist group activity through intimidation.

Arrest

On 17 May 2011, Montes was arrested following an FBI raid in his

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

home. According to reports, his home was ransacked and his computer, cell phones and hundreds of documents such as photographs, diskettes and mementos of his current political activity were removed by FBI. He was arrested on one charge of dealing with a firearm code, and released the following morning. A court appearance was scheduled for June 16, 2011.

References

External links