Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.
AP



By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan, Associated
Press Writer – Wed Aug 12, 3:50 am ET

WASHINGTON – Militia groups with gripes against the government are
regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an
organization that tracks such trends.

The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black
president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the
Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret
Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public
debate about illegal immigration.

Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most
growth he's seen in more than a decade.

"All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report.

It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s — right-wing militias,
people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign
citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be
released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that,
among other activities, investigates hate groups.

Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on
YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more
than 60,000 times.

"Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse,"
said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in
peril."

The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one.

While anti-government sentiment has been on the rise over the last two
years, there aren't as many threats and violent acts at this point as
there were in the 1990s, according to the report. That movement bore the
likes of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 blew up a federal building in
Oklahoma City and killed 168 people.

But McEntire fears it's only a matter of time.

These militias are concentrated in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and
the Deep South, according to Mark Potok, an SPLC staff director who
co-wrote the report. Recruiting videos and other outreach on the
Internet are on the rise, he said, and researchers from his center found
at least 50 new groups in the last few months.

The militia movement of the 1990s gained traction with growing concerns
about gun control, environmental laws and anything perceived as liberal
government meddling.

The spark for that movement came in 1992 with an FBI standoff with white
separatist Randall Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver's wife and son
were killed by an FBI sniper. And in 1993, a 52-day standoff between
federal agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, resulted in
nearly 80 deaths. These events rallied more people who became convinced
that the government would murder its own citizens to promote its liberal
agenda.

Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the
report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who
hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a
major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in
prison for charges including assaulting police.

Last year, officials warned about an increase in activity from militias
in a five-year threat projection by the Homeland Security Department.

"White supremacists and militias are more violent and thus more likely
to conduct mass-casualty attacks on the scale of the 1995 Oklahoma City
bombing," the threat projection said.

A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not
been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some
of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For
instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh
police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew
Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American
citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming.

The FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach,
said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go
beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes.
Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf
offenders.

One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man
charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington.

___

On Aug 13, 8:15*pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.

On Aug 13, 9:15*pm, H the K wrote:


One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man
charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington.


Did your local club that hosted this Maryland guy open its
membership? Can you speak to their union rep to see if they have any
openings for jps?

Thanks.

Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.


Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side. Great for
hunting squirrels or, if you are in the upper midwest, for taking out
parties of hunters.

On Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:47:36 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Aug 13, 8:15*pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.

I think I'd like to take one to Camp Roberts, CA, and spend a day
hunting prairie dogs with an AR-15. That would be some kick-ass fun,
and help with the prairie dog infestation.
--
John H

All decisions, even those made by liberals, are the result of binary thinking.

On Aug 14, 5:04*am, H the K wrote:
Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.

Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side. Great for
hunting squirrels or, if you are in the upper midwest, for taking out
parties of hunters.

It does?

Wow, Harry. your such a theologen!

On Aug 14, 5:04*am, H the K wrote:
Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.

Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side.

Well, Harry. If you're going to make blatant statements like that,
then whats on the side of your Sig?

A Swastika? How about an Iron Eagle?


fits right in, eh?

Tim wrote:
On Aug 14, 5:04 am, H the K wrote:
Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.
"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."
Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.
Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side.

Well, Harry. If you're going to make blatant statements like that,
then whats on the side of your Sig?

A Swastika? How about an Iron Eagle?


fits right in, eh?



I find it humorous that so many self-described "christians" are so into
firearms, right-wing politics. and attempts to force their religious
views down the throats of others. It just seems so utterly incongruous.
I suppose the answer is that there is virtually no connection between
jesus and christianity, and the latter, as a religion, was simply made
up a few hundred years after Jesus died.

On Aug 14, 8:09*am, Tim wrote:
On Aug 14, 5:04*am, H the K wrote:

Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.

"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."

Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.

Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side.

Well, Harry. If you're going to make blatant statements like that,
then whats on the side of your Sig?

A Swastika? How about an Iron Eagle?

fits right in, eh?

Harry's symbol is a big penis...

JustWaitAFrekinMinute! wrote:
On Aug 14, 8:09 am, Tim wrote:
On Aug 14, 5:04 am, H the K wrote:

Tim wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:15 pm, H the K wrote:
Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.
"The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages
viewers to buy one."
Hey, those are really good rifles to have. very accurate and the
action works well, but you gotta keep 'em clean.
Yes, it has the "Jesus Seal of Approval" right on the side.
Well, Harry. If you're going to make blatant statements like that,
then whats on the side of your Sig?

A Swastika? How about an Iron Eagle?

fits right in, eh?

Harry's symbol is a big penis...


Awwwwww...the short guy made it through the night.

If what you posit were the case, by the way, your symbol would be short
dick with a lack of balls.