LOS ANGELES — Jason Todd Ready never made a secret of his passion for right-wing politics and related causes, both of which got the bearded, barrel-chested former Marine branded a racist, an extremist and a bigot. In a lifetime of moving through mainstream politics in Arizona as well as within the semi-military world of less-established groups, Ready built a reputation for in-your-face confrontations, founding an armed volunteer group dedicated to patrolling the Mexico border and ending the smuggling of illegal immigrants and drugs.
On Wednesday, Ready entered a Gilbert, Ariz., home and opened fire, killing four people, including a 15-month-old girl, said Gilbert police Sgt. Bill Balafas. Ready then turned a handgun on himself, ending his life at age 39, the sergeant said.
Ready, known as “J.T.,” lived in the house with Lisa Lynn Mederos, 47; Mederos’ daughter, Amber Nieve Mederos, 23; and the daughter’s boyfriend, Jim Franklin Hiott, 24. Amber’s toddler daughter, Lily Lynn Mederos, died while being treated at a hospital.
The shootings were described by Balafas in an interview with the Los Angeles Times as an apparent case of domestic violence, although what set off the incident was still under investigation.
Ready was best known as the founder of the U.S. Border Guard, a volunteer group whose members dress in military garb and armor and carry weapons while on patrol for illegal immigrants in the desert area near the border.
In a posting on its website, the group, which is not affiliated with the government, mourned what it called “a senseless act of violence. … God bless you, J.T. You will be fiercely missed.”
Ready earlier this year set up an exploratory committee to run for the office of sheriff in Arizona’s Pinal County. A Facebook page titled “JT Ready for Sheriff” carried a message from the administrator that said there were unconfirmed reports that “a cartel assassination squad murdered JT Ready and several of his friends and family this afternoon in Gilbert Arizona.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, described Ready as a white supremacist. According to the center’s biography, Ready received a bad-conduct discharge from the Marines in 1996, after being court-martialed twice — once for larceny and going AWOL, and once for conspiracy and assault. The site also lists a 1992 criminal conviction for property damage and assault after he and a friend destroyed a car mirror with a baseball bat.
