Page 310 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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290———Patriot Movement

Joining them were tax protesters, or “tax patriots,” as to finance racist causes. While Christian Identity still
well as others who frequently identified themselves as played an important role, the patriot movement in the
“Christian Patriots.” The latter often included white 1990s attracted many people who were nonracist and
supremacists; especially prominent was the religious even some who claimed to be antiracist, particularly
sect Christian Identity, whose adherents believe that in the militia movement; the focus became over-
whites of European descent are descendants of the whelmingly antigovernment in nature. Although very
ancient Israelites of the bible, while Jews are descended loosely organized, three main submovements domi-
from a physical relationship between Eve and Satan nated the patriot movement: the militia movement,
and nonwhites are “mud peoples,” the product of a cre- the sovereign citizen movement, and the tax protest
ation prior to that which created Adam and Eve. movement.
Posse founder William Potter Gale was a leading
Identity adherent, as was John Harrell, an Illinois mil- THE MILITIA MOVEMENT
lionaire, who held gatherings and “freedom festivals”
of his Christian Patriots Defense League (CPDL) in The militia movement is the youngest major right-
Illinois and Missouri. On the Missouri-Arkansas bor- wing movement; solidifying in the wake of the Branch
der another group of Identity advocates established a Davidian standoff at Waco, Texas, in 1993. Pioneers
compound called the Covenant, the Sword, and the of the movement, such as Linda Thompson of Indiana
Arm of the Lord (CSA; eventually shut down by the and John Trochmann of Montana, argued that the
federal government in 1985). people needed to arm and organize themselves to pre-
The movement lost steam in the late 1980s as the vent future incidents such as the Waco standoff. They
farm crisis eased somewhat, and some patriot leaders practiced and justified paramilitary activity, claiming
died, were imprisoned, or simply dropped out of the to be the statutory militia established in federal and
movement. However, within a few years, the move- state law. Trochmann’s Militia of Montana was the
ment experienced a resurgence in numbers and activ- first such group, but it was quickly followed by others
ity, thanks to new energy and recruits. as the movement spread across the country. By
the summer of 1994, militia groups had formed in at
least 25 states, particularly active in Michigan, Texas,
RESURGENCE IN THE 1990S
Ohio, Montana, and Florida.
The end of the Cold War prompted many on the far The militia movement focuses primarily on two
right to look for enemies other than the Soviet Union; issues. The first is opposition to gun control; militia
they found those foes in their own government. adherents believed that there is a deliberate plan to
However, a distinct series of events catalyzed the disarm all Americans. The second is the “New World
patriot movement and gave it new life and a new sense Order” conspiracy theory, according to which the U.S.
of urgency. The election of Bill Clinton and the Rodney government, in collaboration with organizations such
King riots in 1992 were causal factors, as was the North as the United Nations, is aiming to establish concen-
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Even more tration camps and a foreign military presence in the
important were two gun control measures, the Brady United States in preparation for the inevitable takeover
Law and the Assault Weapons Ban. of the country. Throughout the 1990s, militia members
Overshadowing all of these, however, were the trained and amassed stocks of weapons, including ille-
deadly standoffs involving federal agents at Ruby gal weapons or explosives, in order to fight back. In
Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, and Waco, Texas, in 1993, 1995, an Oklahoma militia leader, Ray Lampley, and
which convinced many on the extreme right that the several followers were arrested for conspiring to blow
federal government would stop at nothing to stamp up government buildings and other targets.
out dissent or nonconformity, especially if it involved The following year militia members of the
race or firearms. Many groups saw a resurgence in Georgia Republic Militia, the Arizona Viper Militia,
numbers, which also resulted in growth of extremist- the Washington State Militia, and the West Virginia
related criminal activity. For example, the Aryan Mountaineer Militia were arrested on weapons,
Republican Army, a small group of white suprema- explosives, or conspiracy charges. Moreover, mem-
cists, stole several hundred thousand dollars from bers of militia groups continued to be arrested in
more than 20 banks in the Midwest in the mid-1990s every succeeding year up to the present for incidents