SAN DIEGO -- A member of the Minuteman Project faces nine misdemeanor counts, including battery and interfering with the civil rights of two day laborers, one of whom he allegedly punched, City Attorney Michael Aguirre announced Monday.

The charges against John Matthew Monti, 36, stem from an incident last Nov. 18 in Rancho Penasquitos where day laborers often gather to find jobs, Aguirre said.

Monti is scheduled to appear in court April 13 on four counts each of battery and interference with civil rights and one count of filing a false crime report to a peace officer.

According to the complaint, Monti, a member of the private Minuteman group that monitors the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, began taking photographs of the workers while calling them "Mexicano Cochinos," or dirty Mexicans.

He allegedly began punching one of the victims, Estanislao Gonzales, who tried to walk away because the defendant was sticking his camera in the man's face, according to the complaint.

When Roberto Pena tried to help Gonzales, who is described in court papers as being disabled, Monti, too, assaulted him, prosecutors allege.

Immediately afterward, Monti contacted police, claiming he had been robbed and assaulted by six to eight migrant workers, Aguirre said.

Monti resides outside San Diego County.