Militias and conspiracy culture

Militia membership peaked in the mid- 1990s, when it was claimed that more than 10,000 people were organized in militias and training in guerrilla warfare and survivalist techniques, and continued growing even after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. A steep decline followed, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Reasons for the decline included systematic prosecution, aversion to the movement’s advocacy of violence, a new and highly conservative president and the fact that many militia leaders had been active proponents of the Y2K panic, stoking fears that that computers all over the world would fail to adjust to the change from 1999 to 2000 and cause a massive societal collapse.

Like the sovereign citizens movement, militia membership experienced a massive resurgence from 2008 on, after the election of Barack Obama. The resurgence was deeply connected to the belief that the new president would be a “gun grabber”, despite the fact that Obama never spoke about guns in his campaign speeches except when supporting the Second Amendment. A common rumor debated in militia Internet forums was that while Obama and the congressional Democrats knew it was impossible to outlaw guns, ammunition would be severely taxed. This rumour led to an increase in ammunition sales, which eventually made Wall-mart run out of bullets – a shortage that, according to author Will Bunch, sparked new rumours that the ammunition had been bought up by government agents. The same fear of imminent weapons regulations led the state of Montana to enact a law barring federal regulations on guns manufactured and sold in the state.

While estimates of today’s militia membership vary, the number of groups is usually set at above 300, far higher than at the previous peak in the 1990s. Most members tend to be white males between 20 and 55 years old. Unlike openly racist groups, militias tend to compare themselves to the patriots of the American Revolution, often using names and symbolism from the revolutionary war. Armed resistance against “illegitimate authority” is seen as a justifiable defence against an intrusive and tyrannical government. In the same manner, paramilitary training, stockpiling illegal weapons and similar activities are seen as necessary for self-defence and preservation. The Internet has proven an efficient recruiting and communication ground, with a multiple of forums, blogs and “blog talk radio stations” to spread and discuss relevant topics, including claims that Barack Obama will soon endorse drone strikes on American soil, and that a proposed national service corps is intended to function as Obama’s Hitlerjugend, helping in a coming mass arrest of American citizens. Like sovereign citizens, some have also resorted to imaginary courts to sentence what they deem illegal authorities, and have even ordered President Obama to appear before a “Citizens’ Grand Jury” for treason and fraud.

FBI mugshot of Timothy McVeigh.

Domestic terrorism
In addition to those believing in the need to prepare for a coming suspension of civil liberties, there have for years been those who believe in preemptive action against the establishment.

Among those following the events at Waco was a 27-year old army veteran, Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh seems to have had trouble readjusting to civilian life, both in relation to holding a steady job and women. Instead he filled his time with conspiracy literature, including the writings and broadcastings of Milton William Cooper, a veteran from the UFO subculture who had mutated into a militia agitator speaking against an Illuminati-dominated “shadow government” preparing to set up a dictatorial “New World Order”. Indeed, McVeigh is said to have attempted to enter Area 51, a closed area in Nevada rumoured to be a testing ground for stolen or bartered alien technology, at some point before the event for which he is remembered.

On 19 April 1995, Timothy McVeigh struck back against a government he saw as tyrannical and traitorous by detonating a homemade bomb outside the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, destroying nine floors, killing 168 persons and wounding hundreds more.

The carnage caused by Timothy McVeigh is unique. On the other hand, there have been more than 100 lesser instances of right-wing violence or plans for such violence since 1995. The majority seem to have been inspired by antigovernment and/or militia ideology, closely followed by neo-Nazism or white supremacism. It should be noted, however, that many such ideologies overlap. For instance, it is difficult and probably not very constructive to try to determine whether Eric Rudolph – who detonated a bomb in an Atlanta park during the 1996 Summer Olympics and later bombed an abortion clinic and a gay bar – was motivated by Christian fundamentalism, radical anti-abortion or antigovernment ideology. What is known is that he claimed to be striking back against a federal government that had lost its mandate to govern by allowing the murder of unborn children. Nor are some border militias easy to categorize. They may see it as their duty to protect America from illegal Mexican and Central American immigration by terrorizing migrants, but they also share some rhetoric with the general militia movement and even sovereign citizen groups.

An instance of smaller-scale terrorism includes activity by the Republic of Texas, a radical separatist group that claims Texas is still an independent nation illegally occupied by the United States. In April 1997 the group took two hostages and demanded the release of a jailed ROT member. Another instance is the case of Andrew Joseph Stack III, a software consultant from Austin, Texas, with a longstanding income tax dispute with the IRS, who in February 2010 flew a single-engine aircraft into an office building housing an IRS office in Austin, killing one employee and injuring 13 more.

Given the rise in antigovernment and right-wing groups and the many instances of planned terror, there may be good reason to fear another large-scale incident, although today’s right wingers lack a Waco or Ruby Ridge to light the fuse.

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