Militias

Militias are groups that deploy or encourage paramilitary rituals and use informal social networks, charismatic leaders, and various forms of consciousness raising to mobilize individuals on behalf of an ideology that expresses antipathy toward the federal government, multinational corporations and organizations (such as the United Nations), and international treaties (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement). Militias also seek to protect fundamental American rights such as individual liberty and gun rights. Because there is no national militia organization, not all militia groups are the same. For example, while some engage in military training, others, such as the Militia of Montana, only encourage others to train militarily since Montana laws prohibit paramilitary training activity.

The militia movement arose in the early 1990s as a reaction to federal legislation that limited gun rights and to perceived federal law enforcement misconduct. Initially, most of the American public was unaware of these groups. This changed, however, after the media linked them to the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Although this attention led to a short-term increase in membership, the media's negative portrayal of militias ultimately resulted in diminishing membership for many of them. In the ensuing years a number of standoffs between armed groups and law enforcement officials (e.g., sieges occurred at the compounds of the Montana Freemen and the Republic of Texas) received media attention and reinforced the public's negative view of the militia movement. Despite some resurgence of militia activity, particularly in Arizona and California, the movement as a whole declined at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries.

Despite individual differences among the militia groups, law enforcement authorities and other [Page 753]observers have been able to develop a number of generalizations that apply to many of them. Indeed, one of the most important aspects of the militia movement is the diversity of its beliefs.