J. T. Ready | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jason Todd Ready (1973-02-17)February 17, 1973 Florida, US |
| Died | (2012-05-02)May 2, 2012 (aged 39) Gilbert, Arizona, US |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Known for | Four murders, leader of a border militia group |
| Political party | Republican,Democrat, andNational Socialist Movement (United States) |
| Spouse(s) | Arline Lindgren (divorced, 2003) |
| Partner | Lisa Mederos |
Jason Todd Ready (February 17, 1973[1][2] – May 2, 2012) was an American marine, founder and leader of a border militia group[3] and a member of theneo-NaziNational Socialist Movement[4] who sought the elected office of sheriff ofPinal County, Arizona.[5] On May 2, 2012, at Ready's home inGilbert, Arizona, he shot and killed his girlfriend, her daughter and granddaughter, the daughter's fiancé and himself.[3][6]
Ready graduated fromMulberry High School inMulberry, Florida, in 1992.[7]While Ready was in high school at age 18, he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief for swinging a baseball bat at a car driven by a teenager whom he had an altercation with at a party. He was given a sentence of one year's probation and community service.[7]
Ready served in theU.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank oflance corporal. He attendedMCRD Parris Island and went to theSchool of Infantry in North Carolina. Ready was assigned to MCB Camp Pendleton with Reconnaissance Company and 1st LAR Bravo company. He was expelled from Reconnaissance Company and eventually became a Scout for a LAV-25 with anM249 light machine gun being his main weapon. During a field exercise atTwentynine Palms Base, he arrived without his M249 and was duly punished in the field by hisplatoon sergeant. Because of his weight and a knee injury sustained from a PT football game, he did not serve aboard theUSSAnchorage when Bravo Company left with the 15th MEU in November 1995.[citation needed]
Ready was twicecourt-martialed during his service. The first resulted in a demotion and three months' imprisonment, the second resulted in six months' imprisonment and aBad Conduct Discharge from the Corps in 1996.[8] Convictions in the courts-martial included theft, assault, failure to follow orders, and unauthorized absence.[9] The revelation of this history caused him to be removed as the master of ceremonies for a Mesa, Arizona, Veterans' Day parade in 2006.[10]
Ready was a founder of theMinuteman Civil Defense Corps[11] and the U.S. Border Guard, two armed vigilante groups that patrolled the Arizona–Mexico border searching for illegal immigrants.[12]
Ready was caught forcibly detaining immigrants twice in 2011.[8] At the time of his death he was under investigation by the FBI, who were looking into a potential domestic terrorism situation involving immigrants found shot to death in the desert.[13]
Ready and his wife Arline Lindgren divorced in 2003.[14] Ready was baptized intothe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 2003 and ordained as an elder by then-Arizona State SenatorRussell Pearce. In December 2010, a fellow church member described him as "no longer active" and Ready described himself as a "recovering Mormon".[15] Prior to moving in with Mederos, he worked at anAutoZone auto parts store, from which he was fired.[16]
Gilbert police had responded to a domestic-violence call at the Mederos home once before in February 2012, and a Scottsdale woman had filed an order of protection against Ready in 2009.[17]
Ready was politically active in anti-immigration causes. He served as president of theMesa Community College Republican Party Club and as a precinct committeeman for the Maricopa County Republicans. Ready unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in theArizona House of Representatives in 2004 and for a seat on the city council forMesa, Arizona, in 2006.[14] He put forth as his motto that "The Purity of the Aryan Race is the most precious resource Nature has to offer All of Humankind."[2] Ready founded a private organization in June 2010 called the U.S. Border Guard, which aimed to curtail illegal immigration by conducting armed patrols along the Arizona–Mexico border.[18] He attended and spoke atTea Party movement events.[19]
TheAnti-Defamation League and theSouthern Poverty Law Center described Ready as aneo-Nazi.[8][18] SeveralRepublicans attempted to have him expelled from his position in the party in Maricopa County due to his controversial views.[14] Before starting a campaign for the position of Pinal County sheriff, he left theNational Socialist Movement,[20] but had Movement member Harry Hughes serving as his campaign chairman. He ran for sheriff as a Democrat, citing the party's past support forJim Crow and Democratic politicians who had supported racial segregation, such as West Virginia U.S. SenatorRobert Byrd (in the 1940s) and Alabama GovernorGeorge Wallace (later independent presidential candidate), as well as stating his opinion that there was no difference between the Republican and Democratic parties, and that in a non-partisan position such as sheriff, political affiliation did not matter.[21] After Ready's murder-suicide, Pearce released a statement saying that he had previously rejected Ready due to his association with "despicable groups in society", and had objected to Ready's position in the Republican Party.[22]
On May 2, 2012, Ready entered his home inGilbert, Arizona, and, using a 9mm fatally shot his girlfriend Lisa, her daughter Amber, Amber's boyfriend, Jim Hiott, and Amber's infant daughter Lilly.[3] He then fatally shot himself.[20][23][24] A9-1-1 call made from the house referred to an argument before the call was interrupted by gunfire.[25] A teenager in the house at the time was in her bedroom and heard an argument, but survived the incident without being shot.[25]
Local police believe this shooting started as adomestic dispute. No specific motive has been revealed.[20][25] Alongside the local police, the incident and premises were investigated by theJoint Terrorism Task Force, theFBI and theATF, who found firearms, including twoAR-15 style rifles and approximately two dozen military ordnance/40 mm grenades inside the garage, as well as Nazi flags, and police and Nazi uniforms.[25][28][29]
According to an autopsy report, the shooter had no drugs or alcohol in his system, he shot himself once in the "right temporal scalp", and a “copper-colored jacketed gray metallic mushroom-shaped bullet” was taken out of the left side of his brain during the autopsy.[30]