Minuteman member on city parks board sparks boycott threats

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- When the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, appoints someone to the city?s park board, it doesn?t generally get much notice.

But the appointment of a 73-year-old grandmother to the board, which considers things like off-leash dog areas and outdoor party permits, could cost the city millions of dollars.

That?s because the woman, Frances Semler, is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The group advocates vigilante patrols of the Mexican border, and it reports illegal immigrants to authorities.

And the appointment of Semler to a city board has brought sharp criticism from minority rights groups, including the NAACP, which are threatening to cancel conventions that are scheduled for Kansas City.

The head of the nation?s biggest Hispanic advocacy group says the Minutemen are "an extremist group that espouses hate" and "some violence." She says a member of the group shouldn?t be "representing Kansas City." Semler says she won?t resign, and that the protests are "ridiculous."