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A coalition of Mexican-American groups pressed the U.S. Justice Department to bring federal charges against the Hanigans. At first, Government officials refused, contending that the civil rights statutes did not protect illegal aliens. The decision so angered Antonio Bustamante, a Douglas native studying at the Antioch College of Law in Washington, D.C., that he started a campaign resulting in a federal indictment of the Hanigan brothers for violating the Hobbs Act, which prohibits interference in interstate commerce. By torturing the Mexicans, reasons the indictment, the Hanigans prevented the aliens from working in the U.S. The case marks the first time the Hobbs Act, usually reserved for prosecuting mobsters, has been used in a civil rights case. If the Hanigans are convicted, aliens will for the first time have legal redress against harassment by U.S. citizens.
Thus the trial, now in its fourth week, is being closely monitored by Mexican Americans. Every day they pack the courtroom's ten benches. Others march outside, carrying signs reading PROSECUTION, DO YOUR JOB and JUSTICE FOR ALL. Mexican Americans resent the fact that the jury again is all white and criticize the Government attorneys for not better preparing the three aliens for the witness stand. Meanwhile, the Hanigan brothers sit impassively in court, scribbling endless notes as they listen to testimony. Their defense is simple: they contend that they were elsewhere when the aliens were tortured. If convicted, the Hanigans face up to 20 years' imprisonment.
Many in Douglas feel that if the brothers did beat the Mexicans, they were justified in doing so, for the region has long been plagued with burglaries committed by aliens. "Many ranchers feel they get burglarized all the time, and they feel it's about time someone did something about it," observes Milton Jamail, a University of Arizona researcher. Patrick Hanigan's trailer home had indeed been robbed a month before the alleged tortures took place. Others argue that the Hanigans, guilty or not, have suffered enough. The Hanigan home for example, has been peppered by rifle shots. "It's water under the bridge, and people don't even remember the details of the alleged crimes any more," claims Grocer Dolores Zavala.
Others remember all too well. Says Sister Corina Padilla, a Dominican missionary nun in Tucson: "This kind of violence isn't unusual. In fact, it's quite normal." Adds Ruben Sandoval, a San Antonio attorney observing the trial: "This is still the kind of place where white supremacy reigns, and others have to fight to survive. This is the wild, wild West."