Free Republic

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The Orange County coroner's office identified the man as Steve Smick, 48. Church spokesman Mike Nason said there was no record of...

Michael A. Monsoor, a Garden Grove High School graduate, has been selected to receive the prestigious Medal of Honor posthumously for his exceptional courage during a firefight in Iraq when he threw himself on a live grenade to save the lives of his teammates. ... "Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself on to the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity," an incident report posted on the Navy SEAL Web site reads. "The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him."

Who’s Fueling The Racial Hatred? -- Tan Nguyen speech, Oct. 28, Garden Grove California I don’t know for sure who’s behind the hysteria…who’s fueling the racial hatred…who’s dividing the community…but Ms. Sanchez’s fingerprints are all over this. I don’t know if my opponent had a hand in urging the raid on my office. But, on October 20, the O.C. Register reported that Ms. Sanchez had PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of the Attorney General’s intention to seek arrests. I don’t know for sure whether that newspaper article was correct. However, I do know that Ms. Sanchez speaks Spanish. Ms. Sanchez must have known...

A new Islamic advocacy group in Boca Raton is under scrutiny for its ties to William W. Baker, a former chairman of the neo-Nazi political party of presidential candidate David Duke who was run out of town last year when he attempted to speak at Florida Atlantic University. Local Jewish and civic leaders said Friday they were alarmed that the Assadiq Islamic Education Foundation, whose headquarters are listed at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca, had invited Baker back to Boca as featured speaker at an April 30 banquet at the Boca Marriott. Invited by Muslim students to speak...

A man arrested when his car hit two protesters at a speech by the founder of a civilian border-patrol group was free Thursday, but five demonstrators were behind bars, police said. Harold Edmund Netkin, 69, was initially handcuffed Wednesday night, but was later released without being cited, said Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield. Netkin's car was surrounded as he arrived at the Garden Grove Women's Club, 9501 Chapman Ave., and demonstrators rocked the vehicle and banged on it, Handfield said. "We determined it was reasonable for him to move forward," Handfield said. Two people who were standing in front...

An activist opposing illegal immigration who drove his van into a crowd of protesters in Garden Grove will not be charged ... prompting anger from detractors. SNIP Netkin was released after police watched a videotape that showed protesters surrounding the vehicle, banging on it and refusing to move, ... About 300 protesters at the scene were "trying to intimidate him and refused to let him pass," ... SNIP James Lafferty, director of the National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles, said he was among those struck by Netkin's van. He said staging protests at Gilchrist's events was necessary, even if it...

Garden Grove -- A protest against the founder of a volunteer border-watching group turned violent when demonstrators started hurling rocks and bricks at police, authorities said. Five people were arrested during the protest Wednesday on assault and weapon charges. Another man was arrested for driving a car into a crowd, but he was later released and no charges were expected.

Last night, Minutemen supporters gathered privately at the Women's Civic Club of Garden Grove (in O.C.) to hear a discussion lead by James Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen Project. About 300 protestors, charging that the Minutemen are a racist group, gathered outside to protest the meeting. When the Minutemen supporters tried to leave the event, at least two of their cars were attacked by dozens of protestors. The protestors hit the vehicles with placards and other objects until one of the drivers gunned his car to get away from the crowd. He was arrested, though I'm not sure what...

GARDEN GROVE — An event honoring an anti-illegal immigrant leader tonight was marred by altercations between anti-immigration activists and protesters, resulting in an arrest when two demonstrators were hit by a slow-moving van. The driver was Hal Netkin of Van Nuys, said Barbara Coe, chairwoman of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform. Protesters were blocking a driveway when Netkin tried to drive through and knocked two demonstrators to the ground, Deputy Police Chief K.J. Raney said. Netkin was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. At least one of the protesters was hospitalized. "Knowing (Netkin), he panicked," Coe...

NEVER FORGET ...On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, the city of GARDEN GROVE, California (My Home Town) declared itself America's 1st 'Communist-Free Zone' ..officially stating its disapproval of visits from Communist Vietnam Leaders to its portion of Little Saigon. ...Next up, it's WESTMINSTER, California's Turn next Wednesday. HANOI Reacts = 'GARDEN GROVE snub irks HANOI' Quote: GARDEN GROVE's policy establishing a "no-communist zone" drew the ire of Vietnam's government, which said Thursday that the "recalcitrant" declaration viiolates the U.S. Constitution. Reuter reported. City Leaders say the resolution, which discourages visits by Vietnamese communist officials and requires 14 day's notice so police...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Southern California city known as "Little Saigon" because of its large Vietnamese population has become the first U.S. city to declare itself a "no Communist" zone. The city council in Garden Grove, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, passed a resolution on Tuesday saying it "does not welcome, or sanction high-profile visits, drive-bys or stopovers by members or officials of the Vietnamese Communist government." The resolution, passed to cheers from a crowd of about 200 Vietnamese residents, also urged city officials to refrain from "initiating engagements with or facilitating" visits by Vietnamese Communists. Garden...

NEVER FORGET From Los Angeles Times Staff Writer: DAVID HALDANE 'To Vietnamese Communists, From Garden Grove: Stay Away To the delight of observing crowds, council members easily pass a resolution voicing opposition to visits by Hanoi delegations' Link to follow below. (Speaking before the Garden Grove City Council last night I read my letter in support of their Resolution saying "NO" to Communism in their City that appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. It was a response to an Editorial calling such a Resolution a .."Rights Lapse in Little Saigon"..!) QUOTE: THOSE WHO'VE LEARNED THE LESSONS of FREEDOM May 9,...

LOS ANGELES -- Three 12-year-old girls were arrested at their schools for allegedly giving false statements to police that led to the arrest and eight-month incarceration of a homeless man, authorities said. The girls were arrested on a felony charge of conspiring to falsely accuse 36-year-old Eric Nordmark, police said. One girl also was charged with one count of perjury. All three were taken Monday to Orange County Juvenile Hall. "She was scared and started shaking," said Veronica Mendez Ochoa, the mother of one of two girls arrested at James Irvine Intermediate School in Garden Grove, Calif. "She's a little...

Eight months after he was locked up when three girls accused him of attacking them in a park, a homeless man was freed after the girls admitted making up the story so one of them wouldn't be punished for being late to school. Eric Nordmark, 36, a self-described nomad who hitchhikes around the country, had stopped in Orange County last spring when the three 11-year-olds told police they were stalked and attacked by a transient in Woodbury Park in Garden Grove. Nordmark was jailed on assault and child molestation charges. On Monday, one of Nordmark's accusers admitted she and her...

<p>GARDEN GROVE now challenges the Rest of the Country to ..FOLLOW IT's LEAD.. on behalf of all Freedom-Loving Vietnamese-Americans nationwide.</p>

Here is PART ONE of an EXTRAORDINARY FReep report from FR's own (sort of) Starr reporter: CODE NAME:MERCURIADispatches from the activist front line.  BORDER DISORDERCalifornia Coalition for Immigration Reform meetingSpecial Guest Speaker: Michelle MalkinGarden Grove, CaliforniaNovember 27, 2002 I'm not given a good reason very often for braving the dubious charm and non-existent relaxation of the L.A.cious freeway system unless absolutely necessary. I'm even less inclined to indulge in the Rush To Road Rage the night before Thanksgiving, America's Biggest Getaway Day. Usually I'm giving praise to the Lord in advance for sparing me the necessity of enduring yet another ride through...