US Anti-Government Militia Movements on the Rise - Civil War?

After declining for the past decade, militia groups have sprung up from the ashes amid concerns over government conspiracies to push the US into a 1984-type scenario. These groups are increasing in size and scope and increasing the coordination around the country. These groups are considered right-wing but seem to have no interest in the Republican or Democratic party.

Thought by many to have been in decline, right-wing militia groups in the United States have experienced a growth in activity in recent months that indicates a quiet attempt to revive the anti-government movement. These "new" militia groups operate more quietly and train more intensely than their 1990s counterparts, and have new, post-September 11 versions of the "New World Order" conspiracy theories that motivated their predecessors.

The more recent resurgence of activity has attracted little attention, in part because militia activists generally keep a much lower profile then they did in the 1990s, when militia-related Web sites and public meetings were more common. Militia activists still use the Internet, but tend to prefer the lower-profile arenas of online discussion forums and mailing lists over Web sites.

Using these technologies, militia activists have increasingly begun to connect with each other and seek recruits. In June 2004, for example, the East Central Mississippi Militia, based near Meridian, Mississippi, posted a message asking for "like minded folks to be part of a mutual aid group, and possibly join our unit." The group would meet for training, shooting, and "to build the group's trust/cohesiveness."

Much of what agitates the "new" militia movement is a post-September 11, 2001 fear of conspiracies and government power. Like many on the far-right and far-left fringes of American politics, these militia members tend to view the "war on terrorism" as a war directed at themselves, not foreign terrorists like Osama Bin Laden, and consider anti-terrorism measures such as the "Patriot Act" merely a prelude to mass gun confiscation and martial law.

When one West Virginia militia member learned of a scheduled Marine Corps urban training in Morgantown, West Virginia, in the spring of 2004, he posted to a militia message board that, "This is training for door to door searches of civilian homes. I can't help but think this is training for gun confiscation. I am not too happy about it happening in my home town, but I have no control. If this is training for Iraq, then what is the war in Iraq training for? Large scale gun confiscation."

www.adl.org...

This article is complete with a map of local militia groups. Could this be a prelude to an impending civil war? Surely if the suspicions of martial law come to fruition these groups will rise up.

[edit on 17-9-2004 by Jamuhn]

As ridiculous as this may sound, keep in mind Titor predicted a civil war in the US around this time period.

I haven't seen anything that would make me believe this will happen anytime soon. As I live in one of those states with 'acitve militias' I can tell you that they are considered by the vast majority of residents to be very much a 'fringe element'.

The last time I saw or even heard of a militia member was when they wanted to relocate our county fairgrounds. Seems the land the county wanted to use was next to his, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to subdivide it for a new housing development he had planned. Very scary!

Well, I think the active militias would only rise up if the government did something extreme. Even if there were a terrorist attack on American soil again that prompted the US to impose martial law, I could see these militias rising up for fear that such attack was planned all along.

The more recent resurgence of activity has attracted little attention, in part because militia activists generally keep a much lower profile then they did in the 1990s, when militia-related Web sites and public meetings were more common. Militia activists still use the Internet, but tend to prefer the lower-profile arenas of online discussion forums and mailing lists over Web sites.

not such a good idea communicating through technology, if we were to rebel the NSA would surely be right on our case as they probably sift through these forums. civil war is a realistic option in the case of our government over stepping their boundries. although i do not want to encourage such ideas i do see a uprising in our forseeable future. there is just no way around their policies. you could argue all day and still only get as far as your senator. right now its a waiting game, see what pans out in the elections. there is still more reseach to do. we need something concrete, so we can expose the governments motives. oh crap i think the gestoplo is knocking on my door..........

Uprisings by certain groups are always possible...but a civil war?...Highly unlikely...

You know I has been wondering what happened to all those groups that were back in the 70s that opposed the government directly, I remember when they were in the news and then the FBI campaign against the raising of these type of groups took them away from the public view, Its even movies about the FBI taking these militia groups out.

I am very surprised they are still around, are they been monitored by the FBI or these groups fall now on the "home land security"

I always saw them as white surpremacy groups.

Originally posted by marg6043
You know I has been wondering what happened to all those groups that were back in the 70s that opposed the government directly, I remember when they were in the news and then the FBI campaign against the raising of these type of groups took them away from the public view, Its even movies about the FBI taking these militia groups out.

They matured got jobs and had a family, maybe they realised that the government wasn't s bad after all.

Let's face it, if the US didn't military weapons to the public then these militia groups wouldn't have any real means to start a civil war.

Lets face it- the US has a long history of militia organization. The british learned this fact during our revolution to their displeasure.

The corruption of the term "militia" by post civil-war and quasi-religious supremacy groups later on does not alter the fact that similarly formed groups serve as the tripwire and ultimate defence against tyrany just as the framers of the constitution intended.

Originally posted by Phoenix
Lets face it- the US has a long history of militia organization. The british learned this fact during our revolution to their displeasure.

The corruption of the term "militia" by post civil-war and quasi-religious supremacy groups later on does not alter the fact that similarly formed groups serve as the tripwire and ultimate defence against tyrany just as the framers of the constitution intended.

Amen to that Phoenix.

On a side note, apparently these groups have had a lot of run-ins with law enforcement. In the article, they talk about a lot of individual militia members going out in a blaze of glory and all that. I would not be surprised at all if the FBI is keeping a close eye on these groups.

Originally posted by mad scientist

Let's face it, if the US didn't military weapons to the public then these militia groups wouldn't have any real means to start a civil war.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this statement. In the first place, there isn't a place on this planet where someone with the proper amount of resources cannot obtain automatic rifles or other military style weapons. If a person wants it bad enough, they can get almost anything.

Also, maybe having some well armed militias isn't always a bad thing. If nothing else, it makes the various law enforcement agencies act with a little more caution. With no checks, we are much more open to abuse from the people who are placed in positions of authority.

Don't take this to mean that I would support a vigilante type of militia group. Any armed group is only as good as it's actions. If a group was to act in a violent or unjustified way, they would deserve to be put down like the mad dogs they would be.

Still, a well armed and capable population is the surest way to secure freedom for all.

It doesn't surprise me. I had joined a militia about 15 years ago only to see it disbanded when Janet Reno labeled militia members criminals. If it was up to me, we'd never disbanded. The organizers of this militia I'm mentioning had an interest to enter politics and feared that the organization may hurt their political careers. I can foresee a revolution in the making though.

www.cbsnews.com...

FBI's Anti-Terror 'October Plan'
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2004


Convinced that al Qaeda is still determined to disrupt the U.S. fall elections by an attack on the homeland, FBI officials here are preparing a massive counter-offensive of interrogations, surveillance and possible detentions they hope will disrupt the terrorist plans, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.

FBI field offices and Homeland Security agencies will be advised of "extraordinary measures" that will go into place "beginning the first week of October through the elections."

An internal e-mail advisory to supervisory agents this week from the FBI's "'04 Threat Task Force" said the purpose of the counter-offensive is "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat."

Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. Other "persons of interest," including their family members, may also be brought in for questioning, one source said.

All recent truck thefts, chemical thefts and suspicious cargo truck rentals will also be reviewed as part of the plan. Mosques will be revisited and members asked whether they've observed any suspicious behavior.

Throwing hundreds of agents on the street and conducting invasive surveillance has become a standard post-9/11 tactic for the bureau, which hopes at a minimum to force terrorists go back into hiding and re-think their plan.

Some officials believe it was just such tactics that foiled the remainder of al Qaeda's New Year's bomb plot in January 2000 after agents arrested one operative, Ahmed Ressam, in Port Angeles, Wash., with a car trunk full of explosive material.

The bureau also knows it can expect to be criticized for the strategy if it goes too far. One element of the plan calls for addressing what some officials fears could be a wave of protests from Arab-Americans and civil libertarians once the so-called "October Plan" kicks off.

Romeo ,

I wonder if the government is just getting ready not only for the supousely Al-queda "sympatisers" in the USA but also monitoring the posible uprising of the nation in case the outcome of the elections favor one particular group over the onther. I wonder.

the House and Senate are sitting on a Draft Bill that can be pulled out within weeks - ostensibly on an "emergency basis". The bill would send every male and female into some kind of mandatory two-year national service and would cover everyone 18-26.

So, one orchestrated event, even outside the country eg Iran, Nth Korea, and bang you have the FBI cracking down on EVERYONE around the same time as Bush brings in the draft, and militia groups are on the rise. Sounds like a powderkeg to me.

Originally posted by Intelearthling
It doesn't surprise me. I had joined a militia about 15 years ago only to see it disbanded when Janet Reno labeled militia members criminals. If it was up to me, we'd never disbanded.

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me.