Border Patrol Agent Killed in Fast & Furious Honored at Fund-Raiser to Send Family to Hearings

Brian Terry, the Border Patrol special agent whose death is at the center of the "Operation Fast and Furious" controversy, was honored at a Scottsdale fund-raiser Saturday night. KGUN reports that money from the silent auction fund-raiser will go toward the Terry family so that they may be able to attend upcoming hearings about Operation Fast and Furious as they continue to seek justice for their son:

The Arizona Republic notes that more than 300 people attended the event at Scottsdale International Auto Museum.:

"'We're overjoyed. This is even bigger than we thought it would be,' Terry's sister Kelly Willis said. 'We're here to celebrate Brian, and that's what's happening.'"

Terry was gunned down in the line of duty on December 14. 2010 near the Arizona-Mexico border. Two rifles recovered following the late night gunfight with banditos were traced back to Operation Fast and Furious, a controversial federal gun-running investigation that allowed hundreds of weapons into Mexico.

Josephine Terry told The Republic last week that she holds the government partly responsible for her son's death, and that her family is contemplating a lawsuit against the government.

Jay Dobyns, an ATF whistle-blower attending the event told KGUN "I work for an agency that allowed guns to slip through our fingers." Dobyns called the situation "humiliating," and adding to KGUN:

"'I want to try to represent for the Terry family and be a voice for them,' he said, 'and no matter what comes from this event they would gladly trade it to have their son and their brother back.'"

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer also attended the event, saying of Terry "His memory is our eternal blessing.”

"Let us remember not today but always the fallen heroes like Brian Terry," she said.

RememberBrianTerry.com posts information on fund-raising events to honor the slain Border Patrol Agent.