Carlos Montes

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Carlos Montes
at the San José Peace & Justice Center, February 19, 2012
Movement	Chicano Movement

Carlos Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights, and anti-war movements. He was a co-founder of the Brown Berets, a Chicano working class youth organization in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The Brown Berets were inspired by and often compared to the Black Panther Party. Montes was one of the leaders of the Chicano Blowouts, a series of walkouts of East Los Angeles high schools to protest against racism and inequality in Los Angeles-area high schools. He is portrayed by Fidel Gomez in the 2006 HBO movie Walkout.

He has been facing charges since 2011 on a firearms violation that he and supporters insist is unsubstantiated and politically motivated, intended to stifle dissent.