In 2008, before America elected its first African-American President, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a monitor of extremism in this country, said about 150 “militia” groups that advocate overthrow of our government existed within the boundaries of the United States.
Eight years later, as anger dominates the 2016 Presidential campaign, more than 1,000 such armed and threatening militia groups now proclaim they are “true patriots” and promise Armageddon to “take our country back.”
Such groups, of course, are driven by extreme racism, hate, bigotry and intolerance.
With names like “Oath Keepers” and “Face of Patriotism,” these extremist groups use social web sites and a willing media to promoted their love of anarchy while they misquote passages of the Constitution, a document they claim to protect but really don’t understand.
I’ve watched groups like this attempt to destroy America since my childhood when, as young man in Prince Edward County, Virginia, I saw hate organizations like the Ku Klux Klan rip a community apart with hate and bigotry.
Today, we see militia wannabes strut around with AR-15 assault-style rifles on their shoulders in Wal-Mart parking lots and on the streets of communities of states that allow “open carry” of firearms.
Ran into one recently at the Wal-Mart in Christiansburg, Virginia. He walked up and down the parking lot aisles like he was a soldier on sentry duty.
“What,” I asked, “are you doing?”
“Protecting America,” he said. “When the shit hits the fan — it will do so anytime now — I will be here to protect your ass.”
The only threat I saw in the parking day came from him. I carry a concealed weapon — a Glock 17 — licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and after looking at this wild-eyed kid with a rifle in a parking lot, I wondered if the weapon I legally carry for self-defense might be needed at some future time to protect myself and others from him.
The Washington Post over the weekend took a look at the growth of extremist hate groups in America and and focused on 40-year-old B.J. Soper of Oregon, a proud militia member who shreds human silhouette targets with his AR-15, helps his wife and their 16-year-old daughter draw and fire pistols and teaches his 4-year-old child to shoot a .22 caliber rifle.
Soper runs the Central Oregon Constitutional Guard, a smallish-outfit of about 30 men, women and children. He started the band of armed insurrectionists two years ago as a “defensive unit” aimed at taking care of “all enemies foreign and domestic.”
Who is the biggest enemy?
The federal government, Soper says.
“It doesn’t say in our Constitution that you can’t stand up and defend yourself,” Soper told Washington Post reporter Kevin Sullivan. “We’ve let the government step over the line and rule us, and that was never the intent of this country.”
Much of the movement traces its roots to the deadly 1990s confrontations between civilians and federal agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and in Waco, Tex., that resulted in the deaths of as many as 90. Timothy McVeigh cited both events before he was executed for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, and said he had deliberately chosen a building housing federal government agencies.
Now a “Second Wave” is spreading across the country, especially in the West, fueled by the Internet and social media. J.J. MacNab, an author and George Washington University researcher who specializes in extremism, said social media has allowed individuals or small groups such as Soper’s to become far more influential than in the 1990s, when the groups would spread their message through meetings at local diners and via faxes.
Soper and other militia types talk of Nevada farmer Cliven Bundy, who held off Federal authorities in a dispute over public land grazing rights in 2014.
This past January, several dozen armed occupiers, led by two of Bundy’s sons, took over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildwife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. Once of those occupiers, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, died from shots by state troopers.
Finicum, who was armed, is now viewed as a martyr by militia-types, even though an investigation showed his death was a justifiable action of the police.
Two of Bunch’s supporters, who had been part of the Oregon occupation, later killed two police officers and a civilian in Las Vegas. Before police shooters took them down, Jerad and Amanda Miller left a note on the body of one of the dead officers.
“This is the beginning of the revolution,” it read.
If so, the so-called “revolution” is one led by traitors to America.
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Copyright © 2016 Capitol Hill Blue
6 thoughts on “Military militia wannabes: Enemy within”
My friend’s back east know how progressive Portland, Oregon. Since moving here two years ago from near Boston I’ve told them about our legal pot, assisted suicide, same sex marriage, naked bike rides, bisexual governor and high overall weirdness ratings were as surprised as I was to hear about this lunatic fringe taking over a wildlife refuge near Burns. When we all heard that “LaVoy” – the idiotic tarp-man who was interviewed on TV, was shot dead, to a person here in my home for retired geezers everyone thought he got what he deserved.
The local media covered this story a lot, so the rest of the country might have missed the aftermath when the police and other officials moved in to assess the damage. These “patriots” were worse than pigs in the slop they left behind.
No one is going to feel sorry for these armed thugs who have been terrorizing a rural community Most of the “patriots” involved in this lawless takeover have long felony records. The others are unemployed or living off government loans and “disability” checks. These social “parasites” were stupid enough to videotape themselves committing a series of federal crimes and brazenly post it all over social media while taunting the federal authorities. These parasites were clearly delusional if they thought the American taxpayers would just give up 300 acres of our land so these societal leeches could turn it into their private ranch. These thugs broke into federal files and computers and then began following the wives and teenage children of BLM employees and local police. Imaging how brave these “heroes” are, grown “men” with guns were following and harassing the women and children of Burns. These “parasites” saw a middle aged woman wearing a BLM shirt at Safeway. The three “patriots” verbally abused her in front of a crowd and then told her they would follow her home and burn down her house. That’s right. Three unemployed thugs living off the government dole threatening a middle aged woman who had a job and was paying taxes that supported their welfare checks. These zeroes then began harassing the families of local law enforcement. These occupying losers starting following the high school aged children of local cops. The sheriff and others had to move their families and their parents to safe houses after these rural terrorists began attacking their private homes. (and unlike these toy dress up soldiers, the sheriff actually served our nation in Afghanistan. These Bundy thugs only dress up like soldiers and stand around and drink beer and tell each other how tough they are.) No one wanted them in Burns, not the ranchers, not the townsfolk, no one. When the town tried to have a meeting with only residents (needed local ID to get in), these domestic terrorists threatened violence so the meeting had to be canceled. These brave” men” brought children to the refuge; what gutless wonders hiding using their own children as human shields. What poor excuse for a man puts his child in harm’s way? And as soon as the first arrests occurred and things got real, these brave “patriots” who had paraded around like the toy soldiers are screamed like little girls and fled like the cowards they are. The old fool who was fatally shot vowed online for weeks that he would rather die than go to prison. A real man would sit in prison for decades in the hope to be with his loved ones after being released. This self-absorbed coward choose his personal comfort over his family. The FBI wisely waited until these parasites were away from town before confronting them so no innocent citizen would be killed. I, for one, applaud the law enforcement officials who gave these parasites far more options to leave than I would had the patience to do. And I, for one, hope these parasites who were arrested spend the rest of their lives in federal prisons.
Almost every state allows open carry. Get over it.
I don’t know about the “militia,” but you are full of hate.
And now’s a good time to post a reminder that George Washington never said that an armed and discipline populace was necessary to protect from tyranny even when that tyranny came from your own government – that quote is a 20th century hoax.
There were a handful of Founding Fathers who said similar things, but Washington wasn’t one of them. He specifically said in his Farewell Address that having the power to choose our government means a duty to obey the established government. And John Adams wrote in his book about constitutions that to presume bearing arms meant doing anything you please beyond personal defense and coming to the defense of a state or federal government was to destroy every constitution.
“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined” — George Washington
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