Two Major Militia Groups example essay topic

The Government's Integrity According to Webster's dictionary a militia is "all able-bodied male citizens between 18 and 45 years old who are not already members of regular armed forces". If only it was that simple. Individual fear of government corruption has lead to a wide spread militia movement. This movement has been going on ever since the early 80's and is growing stronger today. In the beginning there were only two major militia groups: The Order, and the Posse Comitatus.

"The Order was the most violent and notorious domestic terrorist group of the 80's" (web). Founded in 1983 by Robert Mathews, it was one of the first racists militia groups. It gathered it's members from the National Alliance, Aryan Nation, and other Klan splinter groups. Mathews felt that it was his duty in life to lead a revolution against government and all non-white citizens of the U.S. During the first year of existence, the Order stole close to $26,000 in order to launch a counterfeiting operation. In total, the Order stole over four-million dollars from banks and armored trucks. Mathews and his followers were more than just thieves, they were also one of the first domestic terrorist groups.

Members of the Order carried out strategic bombings and planned assassinations. Two people that were targeted were Walter West and Alan Berg. Walters was a members of the Order accused of "talking to much". In May of 1994, Walters was driven into to the woods by other members of the Order who shot and buried him. The second target, Alan Berg, was a Jewish talk-radio host. The Order tried to scare him off the air, but their threats did little to Berg.

After several heated conversation Bergs was shot and killed in front of his house. The Order continued with their reign of terror by robbing a Brink's armored vehicle escaping with approximately four million dollars. All of this would have gone without incident but Mathews carelessly left a pistol at the scene of Berg's murder. The FBI later traced it back to the Order.

At the same time, Thomas Martinez was arrested for trying to use a counterfeit bill. Martinez made a plea with authorities and exposed the Order. In total, twenty-two members arrested, fined, and some of the members were given life sentences. R. Mathews being the solider he is died in a shootout with law enforcement. In December 1984, the life of the Order had come to an end. During the time of the Order's reign, the Posse Comitatus was also in action. Comitatus is Latin for "power of force of the country" (web).

William P. Gale was the initial creator of the Posse but in 1983 was later made famous by Gordon Kahl. Kahl murdered two federal marshals in N. Dakota; he was later killed by Arkansas police. After his death the Posse saw him as a martyr. The Posse is "a group of dedicated people nationwide that believes that the federal government has grossly over stepped it bounds" (web). They believe in authority only at the county level, disregarding state and federal laws.

No member of the Posse carries paper; they disbelieve in any government documents including: drivers licenses and social security cards. Although less violent than the Order, the Posse has had its "run ins" with the law. In 1991, James Wickstone, a Posse leader in Michigan, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute $100,000 in counterfeit bills at an Aryan Nation meeting. After serving his time in prison, Wickstone, along with fellow identity "pastor" August Kries, started a web site. In expressing his desire to replace the present government with his Identity-based theocracy, Kries writes: I have heard it said that if those of us who are adherents to Racial Identity ever come to power there would be lees tolerance in this country than there is now. I would have to agree with that statement.

Because, we would bring this country back under God's law! We are not in this fight to regain a piece of paper that doesn't even mention God! [the U.S. Constitution] It's because of that piece of paper that we " re in this mess we " re in now... Tolerance, is the whole problem! We would have his [sic] law... there would be NO tolerance. (web web / posse. html) The Posse fears that the government is going to establish a New World Order (NWO): a single government that will possess total control over the entire world. Individual fear of the NWO combined with racial hatred has caused individual's to take matter into their own hands. The most notorious of them is Louis Beam.

Sometimes Klansman and Neo-Nazi, Beam has always been a leading advocate of anti-government and "Aryan" violence. Beam first came onto the scene in 1968 when he joined forces with R. Shelton's, United Klan " so America. It was no surprise that in 1976 Beam joined forces with D. Duke's Knights of the. His only responsibility was to teach the Klan "guerilla warfare" tactics. Wanting his own followers, Beam broke ties with Drake and became the Grand Dragon of the Texas Knights of the.

It was here that he formed this group into a para-military militia called the Texas Emergency Reserve. The group was comprised of 2,500 ex-Vietnam military personal trained in hand-to-hand combat and guerilla warfare. Beams would often boast that his men were not only trained by ex-military personal, but they were trained by active-duty military personal as well. In 1981, Beam helped a group of white American fisherman trying to drive out 75 Vietnamese families from Galveston Bay. This was his first chance to try and start a race war. In an effort to rally people to join his war, Beam made the following statement: "Enough of this lip service and no action.

It is time to begging to train. It is time to begin to reclaim this country for white people. Now I want you to understand that they " re not just going to give it back to us. If you want it, you " re going to have to get it the way the founding fathers got it-Blood! Blood! Blood!" (Dees, 3) After rallying his men, Beam and his followers burned an old shrimp boat with the words "U.S. Vietcong" painted on the side of it as a warning.

During the weeks prior to the opening day of shrimp season, the Texas Reserve burned crosses on the families' yard, burned two more boats, and made numerous threatening phone calls. As a final warning, a group of white American fisherman and fifteen of Beam's men patrolled the bay displaying guns and attire. If the Southern Poverty Law Center had not got involved, Beam's plan would have been a success. Lead by founder Morris Dee, the Vietnamese fisherman fished on opening day. Seeing his defeat, Beam left Texas and joined force with Richard Butler- leader of the Aryan Nation. It was here that Beam was appointed Ambassador-at-large, where his sole responsibility was to recruit members.

Here, Beam came up with the idea behind "leaderless reliance". This new type of militia had no central power. Two major events caused American to gather arms a fight back against the government. The first of these was the infamous incident atop Ruby Ridge. Randy Weaver was a disbeliever of the government, and he built a cabin atop Ruby Ridge in case of the NWO. Weaver was wanted by police for selling two sawed-off shotguns to an under-cover agent.

Instead of showing up this court hearing Randy, his wife, son, and two daughters fled to their hide out. During the previous years, the Weavers had stock-pilled the cabin with plenty of food, guns, ammunition, and other items in preparation for the finial battle. For seventeen months, the marshal services kept a close eye on the Weavers activity. Then on August 21, 1992, the marshals decided to move in. Sending two marshal in for close surveillance was the spark that ignited the fire. The two agents were discovered by Striker, the Weaver's dog.

Not wanting to be discovered, one of the agent's shot and killed the dog. Outraged by this, Randy and his son went to look for the dog's murderers. What happened next is a mystery, but, according to Randy, they spotted the agent and a gun fight broke out. In the end, a U.S. marshal and Randy's son, Sam, were dead. This only made matters worse. The ensuing day, a sniper was given the order to shoot any armed adult male, instead he shot and killed Randy's wife Vicki who was carrying their ten-month old daughter.

This highly trained sniper was aiming for Randy but accidentally hit Vicki as she was holding a door open for him. After this Randy told law enforcement: ' "Whether we live or whether we die... we will not obey your lawless government" ' (Dees, 10). The death of Sam and Vicki gather attention from all over the country. People from all over came in support of Randy and his cause. Among them was Louis Beam and James "Bo" Gritz.

Gritz, a retired Green-Beret came to stop further blood shed. Gritz carried a letter to Randy stating that no more blood shed is necessary and that the death of his family will not go without proper punishment. On August 31, Randy Weaver carrying his ten-month old daughter surrendered. The siege was finally over but the war had just begun.

The second major event that caused Americans to take up arms and fight back against the government was the incident at the Branch Dravidians in Waco, Texas. David Korish, lead a cult that made the compound their sanctuary. Korish was wanted by Alcohol, Tobacco, and FireArms (ATF) agents for the illegal sales of guns. When ATF agents stormed the compound, it turned out to be a complete disaster.

Losing the element of surprise, the ATF engaged in a gunfight that left four dead agents and sixteen wounded officers. Five members of the Korish's group were killed, one of which was Korish's two-year old daughter. After this, ATF officers tried to negotiate with Korish. It turned out to be a slight success: twenty women and children were released. The death of the five members gained the attention from militias across the country. After fifty-one days of negotiations, the FBI grew restless.

On April 19, 1993, they attempted a second raid. This attempt ended in a great loss by both parties. A chain of events caused the compound to burst into flames. When the fire was finally extinguished and the dead were totaled, seventy-five David ans were slain.

This sent the American public into a raged state. "I'm ready to get my guns and my clips and take off my safety and pull the trigger with my finger. I don't care anymore. This is the beginning of a revolution, a war" (Stern, 78). It was no surprise that after the recent turn of events a major militia movement was ignited. This spark created one of the most influential and militia groups ever to inhabit this country.

The Militia of Montana (MOM) was founded in February, 1994 by John Trouchmann, his brother David, and David's son Randy. Together they gathered four-thousand fellow Americans to join their quest against the government". The MOM is an educational organization of the freedom of All Citizens of the State of Montana and of the U.S". (web). Located in the tiny town of Nixon, Montana, MOM has made it clear to the public about their feeling towards the New World Order (NWO). MOM's philosophy is to establish government at the county level and uphold the right of the Second Adamant. Members of MOM are encouraged to arm themselves with a combat knife, a nAR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and 600 rounds of.

223 ammunition. They also encourage each member to take part in the study of guerilla warfare. Unlike like previous militia group's who made their money by robbing or counterfeiting, the Militia of Montana received most of it's money from selling their books and manuals. Their M.O. D training manuals sells for seventy-five dollars.

In this 200 page book it contains detailed instructions on: how to raid armories, coordinate sabotage attacks, and how to execute key targets. MOM's best selling book is their own manual on how to form militia groups. This manual was quickly adopted by thousands across the country. Once the seed was planted it didn't take long for the crop to grow. One of the largest of these new breeds of militia groups was the Michigan Militia. Founded in 1994 by Norman Olsen and Ray Southwell, it quickly became one of the countries largest militia groups with six to seven thousand members.

Like MOM, the Michigan Militia is not a singled-issued entity. Their main concern is to get the federal government out of Michigan. "When you turnover your state law to the federal government, you also turn over the power to enforce that law" (Dees 84). Unlike the Posse, and the Texas Militia, the Michigan Militia and MOM are not based on racist issues. They are more concerned with the right to bear arms and return the government of this country back to it's people. Although some militia's might inquire idea's from multiple origins, most militia are single issued.

There are three major types, race based militia's, anti-government militia's, and religious based militia's. One of the biggest race-based militia's in the country is the Aryan Nation (AN). The AN is a paramilitary hate organization formed in the mid-70's by Richard Butler. It. Butler views Hitler as a mentor, and is trying to finish what Hitler started. According to the AN the only people that belong in this country is the pure white Aryan race.

At an AN conference Butler was quoted in saying: "the Jew's are like a destroying virus that attacks our racial body to destroy our Aryan culture and the purity of our race" (web web / aryan nations. html). In the mid-80's, the Aryan Nation upset many American and was forced to move under ground. During the early 90's, the AN gathered momentum and resurface with a bang. In 1991, thirteen hate crime's including six murders were directly linked to the Aryan Nation. Other racist militia groups include the Ku Klux Klan, the Neo-Nazi's, and the White Brotherhood of America.

Two examples of anti-government militia's are the Michigan Militia and the Militia of Montana. The Posse is an example of a religious militia group. Unlike militia's of the past, the next generation militia group are small in members. These " secret cells" inspired by Louis Beam, are comprised of four to six members. According to Beam", groups with pyramid structure are extremely dangerous... they are easy prey for government infiltration, entrapment, and destruction... ".

(Dees, 206). These men associate with each other using numbers instead of names. The carry military style assault rifles, head to toe camouflage, with exceptional military training. Each member is assigned a special task. These groups can be compared to Navy Seal Teams. Two members carry M-60's with a thousand rounds a piece, two other members carry long range sniper weapons capable of hitting targets at a thousand yards, and the last two members carry M-16's and multiple explosive devices.

Withage's ranging from early twenties to late forties, these men bring a lot of fighting experience. Secret cells of popping up all over the country, but their ghost like tactics make them translucent. Most cell will go to any extent not to be found, including wearing mylar-layered clothing in order to avoid infrared scanning by aircraft's. Most of their training is to prepare for the final day. This day is compared to another civil war. These men are able of defending themselves against federal attacks.

Having no regards to any form of government control these cells will kill anyone who gets in their way, including law enforcement. With so many people involved in militia activity, one must question the government's integrity. Ramification must occur. Opposers of militia groups refer to them as devils, trying to turn this nation into hell. That's a misconception.

If one wants to talk about killing people for a certain cause, one only need to look at the government. After all, wasn't it our government that killed thousands of Native Americans to steal this country in the first place". It is a heavy burden of responsibility for us to bear since most of the victims of our bomb were only pawns who were no more committed to the sick philosophy or the racially destructive goals of the System than we are" (Dees 147). Louis Beam couldn't have said it better when talking about the corruption taking place in our government. He said, Hello, my fellow Americans and all my friends around the world. When a government engages in terrorism against its own citizens, it should not be a surprise when some of those citizens strike back and engage in terrorism against the government.

Terrorism is nasty business... but terrorism is a form of warfare and, in war, most of the victims are noncombatants. Certainly none of us condone the killing of children. But in fact, it is the Clinton which has led the way in killing of children. The hatred one hears in [Clinton's and Reno's] voices when they talk about Oklahoma City bombers is not because children were killed, it's because they know that the bomb was aimed at them. American's haven't had areal war fought on their own sod for 130 years...

I think things are about to change. (Dees, 176). If the citizen of this country don't stand up and get their country back, the New World Order is inevitable. It's unfortunate that action speak louder than words. Work Cited Dees, Morris., and James Corcoran.

Gathering Storm: America's militia threat. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, Inc. 1996 Stern, Kenneth S. A Force Upon the Plain: The America militia movement and the politics of hate. New York, Simon & Schuster. 1996 (Stern 78) Trochmann, Randy L. Militia of Montana. 14 Feb. 1996 web (Trouchman 1) The Nikkor Project.

Paranoia as Patroism: Far -Right Influences on the Militia Movement web August B. Home Page. Posse Comitatus web League. Poisoning the Web: Identity Curch Movement Posse Comitatus. web web / posse. html Anti-Defamation League. Poisoning the Web: Identity Curch Movement Aryan Nations. web web / aryan nations. html.