Militia movement in the 1990s
The militia movement in the 1990s in the United States emerged as a response to perceived government overreach, catalyzed by two significant events: the Ruby Ridge standoff in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993. These incidents, involving federal law enforcement and armed citizens, underscored tensions between the government and certain groups who felt that their rights were being violated. The movement gained traction with the establishment of groups like the Militia of Montana and the Michigan Militia, attracting individuals who were often rural, less formally educated, and strongly opposed to gun control measures.
Members of these militias often expressed distrust of the federal government and beliefs in various conspiracy theories, including concerns about a "New World Order." While some militia groups espoused extremist views, including racism and anti-Semitism, others included diverse memberships. The movement peaked in the mid-1990s, particularly after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which, although initially misattributed to militia members, brought increased public awareness to the movement. Despite a significant decline in militia activity towards the end of the decade due to legal challenges and internal fragmentation, concerns about domestic terrorism persisted, reflecting the broader anxieties surrounding government authority and individual rights during this era.
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Subject Terms
Militia movement in the 1990s
A paramilitary movement that emerged in the United States in the 1990’s
Collectively, the militias constituted the largest right-wing movement in the United States in the decade.
Paramilitary groups are not a recent right-wing phenomenon in the United States. In the 1930’s, a group called the Christian Front was created to defend the United States. Then, in the 1960’s, the Minutemen was created to provide a citizen army to fight communists, both domestic and foreign. There were two catalysts for the 1990’s citizen militia movement: the events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas. Both were government standoffs involving federal weapons violations, and both ended with charges that federal officials had acted incorrectly. At Ruby Ridge, Randy Weaver, a survivalist and Christian Identity church member, bought sawed-off shotguns from an undercover agent in 1989. Weaver failed to appear in court to face the charges. When federal marshals attempted to arrest Weaver in 1992, a shoot-out occurred at Weaver’s isolated cabin. A federal marshal and Weaver’s wife and fourteen-year-old son were killed. Later, Weaver was acquitted of all charges except for failure to appear in court, and the federal government lost a civil suit in the case.
In Waco, Texas, four federal agents were killed in February, 1993, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) raided the Branch Davidian compound of cult leader David Koresh in search of illegal weapons. Following a fifty-one-day siege, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used armored vehicles and tear gas to end the standoff; however, a fire broke out and seventy-six men, women, and children from the religious sect were killed. This event, like Ruby Ridge, was seen by the radical right as an example of the federal government using unjustified force to stifle dissent. In fact, an article in Modern Militiaman magazine asserted that the militia movement was conceived at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and born at Waco in 1993.
On January 1, 1994, the Militia of Montana (MOM) was officially started by John Trochman, a friend of Randy Weaver, in Noxon, Montana. Trochman’s militia became a major supplier of propaganda documents, paramilitary supplies, and paramilitary manuals for the movement in the 1990’s. In April, the Michigan Militia was formed by gun shop owner Norm Olson. This group became one of the largest organizations, with an estimated membership of six thousand.
Militia groups grew rapidly throughout 1994, but few Americans were aware of the militias until the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in April, 1995, that killed 168 people. This bombing, by Timothy McVeigh, occurred on the second anniversary of the Waco fire and was at first incorrectly linked to the militias. In June, 1995, members of militia groups were called to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. As Americans became more aware of the militias’ presence, militias continued to grow. By early 1996, there were paramilitary groups in most states and an estimated membership of forty thousand. Overall, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimated that there were 370 militia groups in the United States in 1996, most of which operated autonomously. The militia movement began to decline in late 1996 because of arrests and less hard-core members dropping out. There were numerous arrests of militia members on charges of conspiracy and of possession of illegal weapons and explosives. By 1997, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimated there were only 221 militia groups, with the strongest support coming from the midwestern and western states.
Issues
There were several major issues that resulted in individuals becoming involved in militias. The first issue was gun control. Militia members were opposed to federal laws, such as the Brady bill, that were seen as limiting the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms. Many felt that such measures were the first steps toward government confiscation of all firearms. Second, militia members were suspicious of government, especially the federal government, because of events such as Ruby Ridge and Waco. Some believed that no government was legitimate above the county level. Third, many militia members believed that there was a conspiracy to create a “New World Order” that would result in a one-world socialist government. They were especially suspicious of the United Nations and international agreements between the United States and foreign governments, especially those dealing with free trade. Some militia groups were also racist and anti-Semitic; however, there were also some militias with African American and Jewish members.
Impact
The militia movement tended to attract rural, lesser-educated, blue-collar males who owned guns and were suspicious of the actions of the federal government. Many of them disliked government policies linked to gun control, environmental protection, free trade, smoking bans, and affirmative action for women and minorities. The militias were formed to protect themselves from what they perceived as illegal and illicit practices of government. Some groups actually planned terrorist actions against the government. In fact, in the three years following the Oklahoma City bombing, twenty-five major domestic terrorist conspiracies were thwarted by law-enforcement officials. While militia activity decreased in the latter part of the decade, domestic terrorism remained a major concern for government officials. As illegal immigration became more of an issue in the early part of the twenty-first century, some militia group members became involved in private patrol movements along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bibliography
Levitas, Daniel. The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002. The definitive history of the origins and impact of the militia movement.
Sonder, Ben. The Militia Movement: Fighters of the Far Right. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000. A short journalistic account of the militia movement.
Stern, Kenneth S. A Force upon the Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. An early work on the militia movement written after the Oklahoma City bombing by the American Jewish Committee’s expert on hate groups and hate movements.