Militia

A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. The word can have four slightly different meanings:

US organized private "citizens militias"

There are United States right wing political movements that calls themselves "citizens' militias", which supporters claim are based on the common law concept of an armed citizenry and various paragraphs in the United States Constitution and United States Code. These militas are not formally linked to a state or Federal government parpamilitary organization or self defense force. They often speak out against the political actions of the Federal government because of what they consider oppressive policies and unConstitutional laws. The private "citizen militias" drew ideas and recruits from the independent survivalist movement, tax-protestor movement and others in the "Patriot" subculture in the United States. A few small private militia groups developed within the United States during the 1970s and 1980s, but the movement experienced a wave of growth in the 1990s for various reasons including the Gordon Kahl, Ruby Ridge, and Waco incidents and the passage of the Brady law, and 1994 "Assault Weapons Ban" .

Related Topics:
United States - Right wing - Common law - United States Constitution - United States Code - Subculture - Gordon Kahl - Ruby Ridge - Waco - Brady law

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The private-militias continued to grow for a few years after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. The movement declined after the election of Republican George W. Bush to the Presidency in 2000 and by 2002 had largely vanished. The FBI has published its report on the militia movement and has determined that the movement is not a threat to the national security of the United States.

Related Topics:
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building - Oklahoma City - Oklahoma - April 19 - 1995

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Most private-militias engage in a variety of far-right political conspiracy theory, and claim that the current federal statutory laws, policies, treaties with foreign powers, and many federal agencies, are to varying degrees un-constitutional, and are engaged in unlawful practices. Private-militia activities range from organized lawfull protesting of government policies to crimal activities including the illegal modification and manufacture of firearms and explosives.

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However, the majority of private-militia groups are non-violent and only a small segment of the private-militias actually commit acts of violence to advance their political goals and beliefs. A number of leaders of these groups, such as Lynn Van Huizen of the Michigan Militia Corps-Wolverines, have gone to some effort to actively rid their ranks of radical members who are inclined to carry out acts of violence and/or terrorism. Officials at the FBI Academy classify private "citizen militia" groups within four categories, ranging from moderate groups who do not engage in criminal activity to radical cells which commit violent acts of terrorism.

Related Topics:
Lynn Van Huizen - FBI

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Private "citizen militia" anxiety, paranoia of Globalism, and millenarianism relating to the year 2000 were based mainly on a political ideology, as opposed to religious beliefs. Many private-militia members believed that the year 2000 would lead to political and personal repression enforced by the United Nations and countenanced by a compliant U.S. government. This belief is known as the New World Order (NWO) conspiracy theory. Other issues which have served as motivating factors for the private-militia movement include gun control, the incidents at Ruby Ridge (1992) and Waco (1993), the Montana Freemen Standoff (1996) and the restriction of land use by federal agencies, as well as the current Supreme Court decision regarding eminent domain. One can find numerous references in private-militia literature to military bases to be used as concentration camps in the NWO and visiting foreign military personnel conspiring to attack Americans. In reponse to the attack of September 11, congress passed the Patriot Act, a law that supposedly helps fight terrorism, without debate. The Patriot Act contains federal legislation similar to that which the New world order conspiracy theorists predicted. Many feel this act has eroded many American constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, and may encourage growth in the survivalist and private "citizen militia" subcultures.

Related Topics:
Globalism - Millenarianism - 2000 - New World Order - Conspiracy theory - Ruby Ridge - Waco - Montana Freemen Standoff - September 11 - Patriot Act - New world order

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