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Mili�a Movements

Mili�as have existed in America since colonial days. These early mili�as were armed, local self-protec�on forces called into service to defend against local threats, primarily Na�ve American a�acks. Later, mili�a units were formed to defend the colonists against the Bri�sh in the American Revolu�onary War. During the Civil War, local mili�as were turned into regular army forces on both the Confederate and Union sides. The tradi�on of armed volunteers ready to defend against real or perceived tyranny is a mainstay of American history and myth. But there is debate over whether mili�as fall under state and local control or is it a right of private ci�zens to form private mili�as. There is a consensus among cons�tu�onal scholars that the framers of the U.S. Cons�tu�on intended mili�as to be an "instrument of government authority," not an agent of poten�al rebellion, as claimed by many mili�a members.

The modern mili�a movement, one of ci�zen mili�as, started out as a reac�on to what a segment of the American popula�on believed were injus�ces commi�ed by the U.S. government. Mili�a movements and groups are growing at rapid numbers. Mili�a groups have gained in numbers since the elec�on of President Obama in 2008, the number of illegal immigrants making their way into the United States, as well as a crackdown on gun ownership.

An�-government Direct-Ac�on Conspiracies

Most an�-government ac�vity is more rhetoric than ac�on, in part because the leaders of the various an�-government groups have no inten�on of direct ac�on against the government because they fear arrest and imprisonment. The charge of conspiracy may be difficult for federal and state authori�es to prove, but it can be done, and the prison sentences for convic�on can be lengthy. Consequently, leaders of an�-government groups avoid the a�en�on. These leaders are able to hide behind the First Amendment and say about anything they want just as long as they avoid the tempta�on to go beyond rhetoric.

The excep�ons to the avoidance of taking direct ac�on have been rela�vely few, but those direct-ac�on opera�ons that have been carried out have been spectacular. They have involved murders, robberies, counterfei�ng, and bombings. Some�mes federal and state authori�es have been slow to react because these opera�ons have been conducted by small and obscure groups or by single individuals, outside the scope of rou�ne FBI and police surveillance. Once one of these direct-ac�on opera�ons hits the headlines, however, the full authority of federal and state agencies is brought forward to solve the crime. The events at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 can be considered direct ac�on, the Oath Keepers were been convicted of sedi�on for their planning and par�cipa�on in that violence.

Oath Keepers

“Founded in 2009 by Steward Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate and former Army paratrooper, Oath Keepers describes itself as ‘a non-par�san associa�on of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders, who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to 'defend the Cons�tu�on against all enemies, foreign and domes�c.’ It emphasizes that the oath taken by military personnel requires them to put defending the Cons�tu�on above obeying what it considers unlawful orders by the commander in chief. Like other paramilitary groups, it offers training, like its Spartan program, so that members and associates ‘will be trained to a high standard such that they may be called upon to protect our borders, or provide security for schools during ac�ve shooter situa�ons, or serve on a Sheriff's posse under a cons�tu�onal Sheriff.’ The stated goal of this training reveals the group's paranoia and poten�al for vigilante violence. Despite having a strict nondiscrimina�on policy and even featuring videos of two African American members on its website, statements posted on its Facebook page reflect a broader bias. ‘The Black Lives Ma�er movement is just one of the social movements involved with the destabiliza�on of the United States of America,’ it proclaims. ‘Others include La Raza, The Revolu�onary Communist Party, the World Workers Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and the Islamic Jihadist movements.’ Statements of this sort also reveal the tendency of the group's followers to embrace conspiracy theories” (Mockai�s, 2019, p. 81).

An�-American Government Extremists In the poli�cal disloca�on and uncertainty of the post-World War II world, a new variety of American extremism arose. This growth of extremism occurred in part because the world was rapidly changing, some�mes in frustra�ng ways. An�communism became intense because of the spread of Communism in Europe and Asia. The Korean War was followed by the Cold War. Wars of na�onal libera�on in the developing world were also unse�ling to Americans, as nothing in the world seemed certain. The United Na�ons was now playing an ac�ve role that some�mes appeared to conflict with policies of the United States.

This instability even reached to events in the United States. Race rela�ons and the civil rights movement called into ques�on tradi�onal ways of life. Poli�cians and some�mes members of the federal government accused members of the civil rights movement of being communists. Extremists began to take illegal ac�ons to thwart the civil rights movement. This discontent began to spread beyond the civil rights movement to encompass the ac�ons of the federal government. Alan Barth expressed the fears of these extremists in 1961:

They offer no novel solu�ons to the problems that plague them; indeed, they offer no solu�ons at all. They are immensely discontented with things as they are and furiously impa�ent with almost everyone in public office that can in any way be held responsible for their frustra�ons. But it cannot be said that they hold any clearly stated objec�ves or have any specific program either in common or individually. They are fundamentally and temperamentally "aginners." And perhaps the commonest characteris�c among them is anger (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 2756-2757).

Mili�a Movements: Part 2

A ci�zen mili�a is conceptually defined as a private army that meets regularly to prac�ce combat scenarios or skills and to discuss weapons. It may iden�fy targets against which weapons could be used. A ci�zen mili�a may be an offensive paramilitary orienta�on (seek and destroy) or a defensive orienta�on (e.g., protec�ng Americans from the New World Order), or both, depending on circumstances. A further dis�nguishing mark of a ci�zen mili�a is its reac�onary, nostalgic nature. It tries to turn back the clock to a point in �me that is perceived to have been be�er than the present (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 3296-3299).

Mili�a groups were able to recruit members by appealing to a variety of issues. Land use policies, property rights, banking foreclosures, bad economic �mes, gun control, abor�on, educa�on, and welfare were all subjects that were able to a�ract recruits. The mili�a movement also wanted to roll back the Cons�tu�on to the original document and the first 10 Amendments (Bill of Rights): "Plainly, the cons�tu�onal rollbacks would return racial injus�ce. Not surprisingly, this is where Patriot [mili�a] beliefs most resemble, and arguably are directly descended from, the openly racist and an�-Semi�c belief systems of the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Na�ons, and the Posse Comitatus.”

Three Percenters

“Three Percenters (also designated as III-Percenters) insist that they are NOT a mili�a and NOT an�government. They have been aptly described as a ‘patriot movement paramilitary group.’ ‘We will be the last defense to protect the ci�zens of the United States if there ever comes a day when our government takes up arms against the American people,’ Three Percenters boldly proclaim. Founded in 2008, this ‘patriot mili�a’ takes its name from the no�on that only 3 percent of American colonists actually fought in the American War of Independence. Commi�ed to defending their narrow interpreta�on of the Cons�tu�on, the movement has adopted a paramilitary structure outlined in its Na�onal Bylaws. It divides the country into opera�onal areas, has a hierarchical system of command and control, and demands its followers take an oath similar to that sworn by serving members of the military. They ask members serving in the armed forces to swear a special oath in addi�on to the official one they take upon enlis�ng, promising not to obey orders the group considers uncons�tu�onal, such as disarming U.S. ci�zens.

Local groups engage in paramilitary training and poli�cal ac�vism. Training includes rifle and pistol marksmanship and ‘advanced tac�c/shoo�ng. Poli�cal ac�vism requires members to vote and oppose laws the group considers uncons�tu�onal. In keeping with others in the mili�a movement and, before them, the Posse Comitatus and Chris�an Patriot movements, Three Percenters oppose federal interven�on in what they consider local affairs. Keep in mind,’ the group's bylaws admonish members, ‘your Sheriff is the supreme law of the land and has the power to kick the Feds out if their ac�ons are uncons�tu�onal.’” (Mockai�s, 2019, p. 80).

Postwar An�-Government Right-Wing Extremism Con�nued

Various an�communist extremists tried to fill the void le� by McCarthy's fall from grace. An�communism s�ll had large cons�tuencies, and there were major donors ready to finance an�communist groups and selected individuals. Among the individuals who took advantage of this intellectual milieu were Reverend Carl McIn�re, an ultra-fundamentalist minister and radio preacher; Dr. Fred Schwarz, an Australian physician and head of the Chris�an An�-Communist Crusade; Reverend Billy James Hargis, a head of the Chris�an Crusade and a radio preacher; and Dan Smoot, a former FBI agent.

Each of these figures had venues and support from willing followers and listeners who felt they also had fundamental differences with the government. McIn�re mounted his an�communist crusade from his "Twen�eth Century Reforma�on Hour" broadcasts on a network of almost 600 radio sta�ons. Dr. Schwarz preached against communism at large rallies and wrote an influen�al book, You Can Trust the Communists (to Be Communists). At his apex of influence, Dr. Schwarz delivered several hundred talks a year, preaching his an�communist message. Hargis also used radio broadcasts in his crusade against communism and wrote a book �tled Communist America-Must It Be! Hargis kept emphasizing his main theme that there was treason everywhere and that communism was about to take over the country and destroy its churches. Smoot had spent nine years as a FBI agent before using his contacts with the archconserva�ve H. R. Hunt to finance his broadcas�ng career. He charged that communists had infiltrated the U.S. government and were working to seize control of American society. What these na�onal figures accomplished was undermining American's faith in their government. These ideas led to the first commi�ed an�-government organiza�on-the John Birch Society.

An�-American Government Extremists: Part 2

The an�-government extremists have lost faith in the federal government because they believe it no longer operates for the benefit of white ci�zens. Many now refer to the federal government as the ZOG (Zionist Occupa�onal Government). This term made its first appearance in William Pierce's 1978 The Turner Diaries, and it has become standard usage among an�-government extremists and an�- Semites. The ZOG is characterized as a secret cabal of Jews, liberals, Freeman, plutocrats, and mul�na�onal corpora�ons. Ma�as Gardell describes how the extremists view the ZOG:

Being omnipotent and omnipresent, ZOG can be used as a metaphor for just about everything that is wrong in the world. Held accountable for systema�c discrimina�on against White Americans, ZOG can even be blamed for personal failures. Accordingly, ZOG can be used to explain not only the existence of affirma�ve ac�on, environmental pollu�on, and pornography but also why a certain individual made poor grades in school, lost his job, or seems unable to find a partner (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 2760- 2763).

These an�-government ac�vists consider themselves to be at war against the federal government. They also assume the role of the underdog in this fight against the federal government. As Ma�as Gardell explains it,

…the appropria�on of the role of the underdog is a key factor in the process of iden�ty construc�on of the radical racist culture. The underdog has long been an All-American folk hero, the righteous individual who, with trust in himself, his God, and his gun, fights against all odds for what is right and decent, emerging victorious at the end. Iden�fying with the trope of the underdog lends the Aryan ac�vist moral superiority and heroic quali�es as a modern-day David figh�ng the ZOG (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 2764- 2766).

An�-American Government Extremists: Part 3

An�-government forces con�nually have had a variety of supporters. Among them are white supremacists, Chris�an Iden�ty followers, patriot groups, Posse Comitatus adherents, common law advocates, and survivalists.

The common thread linking these ardently violent people together is a belief that the U.S. government is taken over by a conspiracy of Jewish bankers and nebulous other dark forces who plan to bleed the country dry, then bring a nuclear a�ack down upon the withered shell ... the Survivalists hold, once the a�ack has cleansed the earth, their new order of white people will start history over again (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 2767-2770).

Former members of the pro-life movement have also converted to the an�-government movement because they are frustrated with "what they perceived to be pro-life's o�en less than radical approach to stopping the murder of children." An�-government groups have an absolu�st faith in the U.S. Cons�tu�on. The U.S. Cons�tu�on and the first 10 Amendments are considered sacred because the an�- government leaders believe they were divinely inspired. Consequently, they maintain the U.S. Cons�tu�on should be interpreted based on its "original intent."' Although other segments of the American popula�on, including the U.S. government and the U.S. Supreme Court, think the Cons�tu�on is an "evolving document," the adherents refuse to believe that it should be changed. This interpreta�on of the U.S. Cons�tu�on is �ed closely to opposi�on in the an�-government movement toward gun control. This opposi�on to gun control is s�ll very much part of the American debate and poli�cal fabric today in the 21st century. With the rise of homegrown terrorism by extremist groups the debate is s�ll a heated topic of discussion for both le�- and right-wing groups.

Postwar An�-Government Right-Wing Extremism

Many right-wing extremists became ac�ve both before and a�er World War II because of their fervent an�communism. The postwar Red Scare was a product of the beginning of the Cold War. The passage of the McCarran Act over President Harry Truman's veto showed how pervasive the fear of communism was among Americans. The victory of the Chinese communists under Mao Zedong in 1949 only intensified the fear. Then the report of the Soviet Union's detona�on of an atomic bomb in September 1949 caused widespread hysteria in an�communist circles. The arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and their execu�on for spying added to the an�communist agita�on. It was in this ferment that Joseph McCarthy appeared to assume the leadership of the an�communist crusade. McCarthy's hunt for communists made him the darling of the Republican Party's right wing. Daniel Bell described McCarthyism as a one-man opera�on: "McCarthyism in the mid-1950s was never an organized movement; it was primarily an atmosphere of fear, generated by a one-man swashbuckler cu�ng a wide swath through the headlines." Even a�er the luster of McCarthy's a�acks wore off, he retained staunch defenders. Although the McCarthy-U.S. Army hearings ruined McCarthy's poli�cal career, they did li�le to discourage his admirers.

Extremism in America: A Surge in Violence

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Mili�a Movements: Part 5

The mili�a movement was already in decline when the a�acks on September 11, 2001, changed the American poli�cal scene. Suddenly, there was an external enemy against which all Americans could unite. Although there were cri�cs who wondered how the September 11 a�acks possibly could have happened, most of American's right-wing extremists, including those in the mili�a movement, grew silent. A few voices emerged to claim it was all a government plot, but few people paid a�en�on to them.

Then the U.S. Congress allowed the Brady Bill to expire. Gun control is always a litmus test among mili�a groups. Despite the mildness of the provisions of the Brady Bill, gun rights adherents had always considered gun control as the leading wedge of government plans to disarm American ci�zens. The repeal of this law was in keeping with the interpreta�on of mili�a groups that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Cons�tu�on requires "unrestricted and unregulated gun ownership.” This ac�on cooled down some of the more radical elements in the mili�a movement.

Mili�a groups are s�ll ac�ve and certainly on the rise over the past decade. Further, we are seeing a surge of mili�a groups and members with the 2016 Presiden�al Elec�on. Individuals are frustrated with their current life status and blame the federal government for many of their professional and personal setbacks. Hatred and fear of the U.S. government is s�ll present. A hot issue for former mili�a members has been the an�-immigrant movement as well as the 2nd Amendment which states "A well-regulated Mili�a, being necessary to the security of a free States, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Mili�a Movements: Part 3

Two themes united all the mili�a movements: belief in conspiracy theories and opposi�on to gun control. Most of the conspiracy theories concern either the United Na�ons or the U.S. government, and most concern control over firearms: "Conspiracy theories, both na�onal and worldwide, pervade the mili�a movement. They are almost as important as gun control, because like gun control, conspiracies are the nexus of the mili�a's reason for exis�ng. Members join together to prevent the various conspirators from carrying out their evil plots.”

The leaders of the mili�a movement intended it to be a mass movement. It a�racted a wide variety of adherents. Many of the followers of the mili�a movement are frustrated young males.

These angry, young, white males, finding themselves unable to capture the American Dream because they lack the job skills necessary to obtain well-paying jobs, o�en look for someone (other than themselves) to blame for their problems. Also, veterans, which a number of mili�a members are, and par�cularly those who have served in combat, many �mes feel that their country owes them a good living because of their service and become angry and frustrated when this does not occur. They, too, then look for someone to blame for their plight. The mili�as give them someone to blame (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 3308-3310).

Also, ac�ve in the mili�a movement are "older people who have lost family farms, execu�ves who were downsized out of their jobs, individuals who have seen their long-held jobs go to foreign countries, or small businessmen who are put out of business by agencies of the federal government, usually by the IRS," or by other government agencies. One of the targeted groups for recruitment are public safety officers. Recruitment of members of police departments gave the mili�a leaders access to computers that contained intelligence on mili�a groups. Jack McLamb, a re�red Phoenix police officer, traveled around in the late 1990's recrui�ng police officers to the mili�a movement.