The Fall and Rise of Militias

Some view them as fanatics, while others see them as Americans with a strong civic sense. Who are America’s “militiamen”? Amid the collapse of the American economy and the comeback of Obama’s Democrats, constitutional militias have been going through a strong revival. They are not neo-Nazis, even though some of them share views with the extreme right. They are not bloodthirsty, although their libertarian principles are being embraced more and more by Americans enraged by Obama’s government. They are an amorphous group of men and women, generally white, who regularly train in self-defense techniques.

The paramilitary organizations they form are called “militias” to differentiate them from the armed forces of the state. (Communists used to give the same name to police units, to show that they are actually composed of citizens.) American “militiamen” are a modern occurrence (spread across all the American states), even though they consider themselves to be the direct followers of patriotic colonists, who fought against the British troops in the 18th century.

The First Wave: 1994

According to Professor Robert Churchill, an expert in the matter of American insurrectionist groups, the history of militia movement begins in the second half of the 1980s, when organizations started advocating and lobbying for the right of citizens to own firearms.

Those supporting the right to own guns turned to historians to legitimize their cause. At the time, many studies were written and published about the American Revolution and the role the citizen militia had in those days. “The fact that militias were meant to act as an insurrectional force, with the purpose of defending citizens from the abuses of the state, became popular in the pro-firearms camp,” says Churchill. “After that, police stations added special paramilitary units (SWAT). As the controversy over the right to own firearms grew, these police units became increasingly aggressive. They were already trained to use paramilitary tactics in actions against drug dealers, and there was a fear that they will turn their attention on those owning firearms,” Churchill adds.

Amid these tensions, exacerbated by two bloody incidents (Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992 and Waco, Texas in 1993) in which the U.S. federal forces stormed the camps of groups accused of holding illegal weapons, tens of thousands of Americans began creating armed self-defense groups — in other words, militias.

The Decline: 1995

The militia movement has never had a centralized command structure. In addition, as a result of a phenomenon by and large spontaneous, the hundreds of emerging groups who called themselves “militia” did not always share the same values and beliefs. Historians and sociologists have identified from the outset two different branches to the movement: one focused mainly on the so-called recovery of the American Republic, based on maximizing rights and personal liberties (“constitutional militias”), and an apocalyptic and racist one, animated by a dark vision of an international conspiracy meant to subdue “free Americans” (“millenniary militias”).

On April 19 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a sympathizer of the millenniary doctrine, detonated a massive bomb in front of a federal government building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. The attack, which aroused the attention of journalists and the FBI overnight, had major repercussions on all the militias.

Shortly after the attack, several millenniary groups were dismembered and some constitutional militias actually ended their organized activities. In recent times however, with the collapse of the American economy and the return to power of the Democrats led by Obama, constitutionalist militias have seen a strong revival.

The Second Wave: 2009-2010

The number of militias grew significantly over the past two years. Unfortunately, there are few and incomplete sociological studies on the subject, making the process of identifying the reasons for their appearance even more difficult. Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that keeps track of extremist groups in America, mentions three major causes for their resurgence.

First, economic woes are radicalizing Americans. Another influence is the increasingly violent discourse of conservative American commentators and politicians, who are constantly bringing forward all sorts of alarming conspiracy theories. Finally, according to Potok, a demographic change — symbolized by Obama’s election as president — is profoundly disturbing some white citizens. The vast majority of militia members, however, vehemently deny any accusations of racism.

Neither the constitutionalists, nor the millenniaries had identified with racist ideologies pertaining to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or the skinheads, but the millenniarists’ paranoid vision attracted many people with anti-Semite and racist tendencies in the 1990s. They actually felt threatened by a supposed internationalist clique set on conquering the world.

American Ceaucescus, Beware!

Mike Vanderboegh, who was a militia leader in Alabama during the first wave, is currently considered by many as a gray eminence of the militia movement.

“Freedom is a God-given, inalienable right. The present administration thinks that it can dictate to the minority how to act, because they were elected by a majority. But for the founding fathers of this Republic, democracy without limits is as dangerous as dictatorship. Absolute democracy is like having three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. If there is no constitutional menu which says “sheep will not be eaten” and a sheep dog to impose conduct, the sheep will be eaten by the wolves. It will be a purely democratic act and at the same time, purely dictatorial. The armed citizens of the United States are the ones playing the role of the sheep dog,” says Vanderboegh.

He doesn’t hesitate to compare contemporary America society with communist era Romania: “We are witnessing federal government tyranny — see the recent health care law, which demands that each citizen buys his own health insurance. I sincerely hope that Obama will remember what happens to tyrants like Nicolae Ceausescu and his lovely wife!” concludes Vanderboegh.

The Sacred Right to Bear Arms

By far the most important claim made by American militia supporters is the right of citizens to own firearms. The second amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits limiting people’s right to bear arms. The law isn’t specific on what types of arms are allowed, however, which led to many virulent arguments between those who wish to forbid some types of firearms and those who believe the citizens have the right to own any kind of arms — including automatic rifles, such as Kalashnikovs.

“The second amendment guarantees that the citizen may exercise his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” says David Codrea, an American whose grandparents emigrated from Transylvania during the first half of the 20th century. “The American government seems to have forgotten that this amendment states that the citizens’ right to bear arms cannot be restricted. We are witnessing the continuous efforts of disarming the people, under the false pretenses of a fight against terrorism. We are constantly being associated with extremism, with hatred; what really amuses me is that I am being accused by the left of being racist and anti-Semitic, while the real racists and anti-Semites are accusing me of selling myself, because in my writings I support everyone’s right to bear arms, regardless of race, color or religious belief.”

The owner several rifles and pistols, Codrea believes that disarming the population will not strengthen public safety in any way. “If we think about it, the most important mass murder in American history was carried out using box cutters. The second biggest mass murder, the attack in Oklahoma City, used fuel and fertilizer. Anyone can have access to these kinds of things.”

What do Militiamen Believe in

Americans who are already part of a militia talk about why they joined these movements and what they intend to do in the future.

Roy McCarty, member of the Northern California State Militia: “A few years ago, I was living in Arizona, where we had a real problem with illegal immigrants coming across the border. In my area, the border patrol caught 2,500 [illegal immigrants] each month. The police were completely overwhelmed by the situation, so the people living there formed a militia to help them. We would patrol the border, catch illegal immigrants and hold them back until the police came to arrest them. In the old days, if you were member of a militia, you were seen as a patriot. Things changed when the extremists, like the neo-Nazis, came. We are simply neighbors helping one another in case of floods, fire, earthquakes and so on. We do not want to destroy anything, nor are we interested in fighting the government.”

William Krause, member of Liberty Guard of New America: “Right now, 40 percent of Americans are paying for the other 60 percent. The government is not doing anything to fix the problem — not the Republicans, nor the Democrats. Their only concern is to take our money and all they can for that matter, in a socialist-communist manner. Here in Oregon, we have a bunch of illegal Mexicans, who are walking on the streets all day, committing crimes and the police is not doing anything about it. They won’t speak English and they won’t work. If there’s a flood or an earthquake, they might even start stealing or robbing. But if we are threatened, we members of the militias, we will fight force with force. It is really bad and it might even end in a civil war.”

Jeff Foust, member of Indiana Militia: “We believe that everyone has to be ready for everything. Back in the old days, it was natural to be able to look after yourself, even in the worst case scenario. Now, people cannot do that anymore. A lot of people live with their eyes closed. The whole society is scheduled not to worry about the safety of personal liberty.”

Mike Vanderboegh, former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia and currently a political militia strategist, also explains his reasons: “The new health care law forces us to buy insurance. When we will say no, they will fine us. When we will refuse to pay the fine, they will come and arrest us. If we do not allow them to arrest us in our own homes, they will send armed federal [agents] to break our doors and drag us to prison. At that moment, I will resist with my rifle. The English and the Americans have a long tradition of fighting tyranny.”

*EDITOR’S NOTE: The original quotations, accurately translated, could not be verified.