Militia movement (United States)

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The Militia movement is a right wing social and political movement of paramilitary groups, with an anti-big government philosophy, in the United States. They refer to themselves as a "militia," "unorganized militia,"^[1] and "constitutional militia."^[2] Precursors were present in 1980s groups such as the Posse Comitatus.^[3] The movement arose after controversial standoffs with government agents in the early nineties, and by the mid-nineties, groups were active in all 50 states with membership estimated at between 20,000 and 60,000.^[4] Although in disparate unconnected groups, they are almost always united in their beliefs of the federal government's threat to their freedom, and in particular the movement's opposition to any limit of the Second Amendment right to bear weapons. Outreach is conducted through the distribution of literature at gun shows, shortwave radio, newsletters, and more recently, the Internet. Organizations and individuals associated with the movement have had numerous encounters with law enforcement agencies, and some members have been arrested on conspiracy and weapons charges.

Contents 1 History 2 Ideology 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] History

The Militia movement is a paramilitary outgrowth of the independent survivalist movement, tax-protester movement and other movements in the subculture of what is collectively called the "Christian Patriot movement" in the United States. The formation of the militias was influenced by the historical precedent of existing paramilitary movements such as the Posse Comitatus, the Aryan Nations, and groups associated with Christian Identity.

Although the far right Patriot movement had long been marginalized, certain cultural factors paved the way for the wide scale growth of the Militia movement. These causes were threefold; political, economic, and social. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of international communism, externally directed conspiracies and fears were turned inward at the Federal government, long a cause of resentment in the Western United States. This attitude grew with the Federal government's own expansions of powers. Widespread economic destabilization occurred in the West and Midwest following the Carter administration. Farm communities were shaken by rural economic depressions and overwhelming debt, and manufacturing jobs were lost to the global economy.

Precursor groups existed in the form of small militias that had organized during the 1970s and 1980s, but the movement underwent a wave of growth and rose to prominence in American culture in the 1990s. Events such as the killing of Gordon Kahl by government agents, the controversies of the Presidency of Bill Clinton, and the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement angered those on the right and left. The catalysts came in the form of the FBI's 1992 shootout with Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, and the government's 1993 siege and eventual destruction of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.^[5][6][7] Historian Mark Pitcavage described the Militia movement of the 1990s:^[3]

The militia movement is a right-wing movement that arose following controversial standoffs in the 1990s. It inherited paramilitary traditions of earlier groups, especially the conspiratorial, antigovernment Posse Comitatus. The militia movement claims that militia groups are sanctioned by law but uncontrolled by government; in fact, they are designed to oppose a tyrannical government. Adherents believe that behind the "tyranny" is a left-wing, globalist conspiracy known as the New World Order. The movement's ideology has led some adherents to commit criminal acts, including stockpiling illegal weapons and explosives and plotting to destroy buildings or assassinate public officials, as well as lesser confrontations.

Militia groups saw the Davidians and the Weaver family as martyrs,^[4] and used Ruby Ridge and Waco as examples of the federal government's threat to people who refused to conform, and additionally those two events became a rallying cry to form militias to defend the people against the forces of a government perceived as hostile. Both incidents involved weapons alleged to be illegal and federal agents efforts to confiscate them. In both incidents, the government failed to produce evidence of illegal activity. Government agencies responsible for the deaths of the Branch Davidians, and members of the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge, were later exonerated and excused of further investigation. This heightened tensions in militias, as many leaders were gun rights advocates and firm believers in the right to bear arms.

Resentment of the federal government only heightened with the passage of the Brady Act in 1993 and the Assault Weapons Ban a year later. Those laws also helped to drive more moderate gun owners into sympathy with some of the Militia movement's positions. The FBI's shooting of Vicki and Sam Weaver at Ruby Ridge also alienated many in the gun rights movement.^[7] Some members of the Militia movement viewed this as an attempt by the government to disarm the American people, a preliminary step to clear the way for an invasion of United Nations troops and the establishment of a New World Order.^[5] Many people joined militias in order to, in their eyes, protect their gun rights from an intruding government. These events were also spun into the apocalyptic End time belief of Christian fundamentalists.^[4]

As the movement continued to coalesce, activists emerged to figures in the movement. Linda Thompson, an Indiana lawyer who had volunteered to serve as counsel for the Branch Davidians, became an early voice. Her message of a coming apocalypse and government conspiracies were received receptively within the Militia movement.^[4] John Trochmann, a friend of Randy Weaver, would later found the Militia of Montana in 1994. Former Special Forces officer and Populist Party presidential candidate Bo Gritz, encouraged his supporters to join militias, and has served as a mentor to the movement.^[5]

The growth of movement had not gone unnoticed. Early research was conducted by the Coalition for Human Dignity, People Against Racist Terror, Western States Center, Institute for First Amendment Studies, Alternet, the Montana Human Rights Network, Political Research Associates, and the Center for Democratic Renewal. As 1994 drew to a close, public attention to the Militia movement began to grow. Planned Parenthood, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Working Group all tried to draw media attention to the issue. The Southern Poverty Law Center petitioned then Attorney General Janet Reno, and the Anti-Defamation League issued a report on the topic. A national conference on militias was held in Seattle, Washington in 1995. The Oklahoma City bombing on April 19th of that year, the anniversary of Waco, would draw nation-wide attention to the Militia movement with the revelation that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols had links to armed right wing groups. This would both increase public scrutiny and law enforcement pressure, as well as bring in more recruits due to the heightened awareness of the movement.^[8]

In March 1996, agents of the FBI and other law enforcement organizations surrounded the 960-acre eastern Montana "Justus Township" compound of the Montana Freemen. The Freemen were a Sovereign Citizen group that included elements of the Christian Identity ideology, common law legal theories, and rejected the authority of the Federal Reserve.^[4] Montana legislator Carl Ohs mediated through the standoff. Both Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge and Bo Gritz had attempted to talk to the group but had given up in frustration, as did Colorado Senator Charlie Duke when he had attempted negotiations.^[9] A break finally came when far right leaders abandoned the group to their fate.^[10] The group surrendered peacefully after an 81 day standoff and 14 of the Freemen faced criminal charges relating to circulating millions of dollars in bogus checks and threatening the life of a federal judge.^[9]

Another incident occurred in Fort Davis, Texas a year later in March of 1997 when a faction of the self-styled "Republic of Texas" militia group seized hostages. The Republic of Texas group believed that the annexation of Texas as a state in 1845 was illegal, that Texas should remain an independent nation, and that the legitimate government Texas was their leadership.^[11]Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe were taken at gunpoint in retaliation for the arrest of member Robert J. Scheidt, who had been arrested on weapons charges. Leader Richard McLaren then declared that the group was in a state of war with the federal government.^[12] The property was then surrounded by the entire Jeff Davis County sheriff's department, state troopers, Texas Rangers, and agents of the FBI.^[11] McLaren's wife, Evelyn, convinced him to surrender peacefully after a week-long standoff. The McLarens and four other Republic of Texas members were sent to prison.^[12]

The militia movement has been the target of harsh government actions. Federal tactics at Ruby Ridge and Waco have been described as abuses of power and a violation of due process.^[8] Civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center worked to portray militias as racist, despite there only being only tenuous connections to White supremacists, and as an anarchist threat to the national government in an effort to discredit them.^[7] Similarly media coverage of the Militia movement has been described as an attempt at demonization.^[13] Following the Oklahoma City bombing, news coverage and a moral panic changed the formerly obscure militias into the new face of domestic terrorism.^[13]

[edit] Ideology

The ideology of the Militia movement is political and conspiratorial. Militia groups claim legitimacy based on colonial writings; Article 1, section 8 and the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution; the Militia Act of 1792; Title 10, Section 311 of the United States Code; and the concept of an independent armed wing of the citizenry that they believe exists in the Common Law.^[8] Their beliefs centers around opposition to the power of the United States federal government and limitations on the right to bear arms, and a belief in a New World Order conspiracy.^[14]

The movement sees power of a big federal government as a form of tyranny.^[3] Its anti big-government beliefs focus on taxes, regulations, and gun control efforts as perceived threats to constitutional liberties by the government. Many of their views are similar to the John Birch Society, tax protester movement, county supremacy movement, state sovereignty movement, and the states’ rights movement.^[4] Gun control is considered unconstitutional, and a move toward fascism by the government. The controversial novel Unintended Consequences by John Ross in 1996 is an example of these beliefs. Much of the anger directed towards the government was due to fears of an imminent effort to confiscate weapons.

The ideology most commonly associated with the Militia movement, and its parent, the Christian Patriot movement, is the belief in the shadowy movement that worked toward the creation of a singular world government. This New World Order conspiracy theory centered on the idea that the United Nations and globalization were the tools of a secret elite, and that a compliant U.S. government was assisting them. Millenarianism was also entwined in this belief as the year 2000, was seen as a possible date of the country's collapse.^[15] Gun control was seen as an effort to disarm the populace before an influx of UN troops, and dissenters would be placed in internment camps that had been erected in secret. The elites takeover would be assisted by deliberate famines, targeted military incursions, and the use of chemical and biological weaponry.^[7] This triad of beliefs forms the core of the Milita movements ideology. Although white supremacist groups such as the Aryan Nations and Christian Identity have made common cause with the movement, their racialized ideas were not embraced.

[edit] See also

• Christian Patriot movement

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• The Militia Movement - ADL report
• Paul de Armond, Christian Patriots At War with the State
• Paul de Armond, The Anti-democratic Movement: more than militias
• Paul de Armond, A Not So Distant Mirror
• Paul de Armond, Putting the Far Right into Perspective