US Militia Groups Refocusing on New Enemies

 

Last week, an American court ruled against three members of a militia¹ in the state of Kansas.

The jury found the three men – Curtis Allen, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright -- guilty of two charges: plotting to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy² against civil rights. They face up to life in prison.

Officials say the three planned to bomb a building where Somali refugees live. They said the bombing was supposed to lead to more violence, what one of the men called “Crusades 2.0.”

But their plan was stopped after their arrest, just weeks before the 2016 elections in the United States.

Officials say the plot shows the changing enemy of a movement that was launched a generation ago. It began at a time of anti-government activism.

But with the election of Donald Trump³ as president, the desire to fight the government appears to have lost some of its urgency. Many militia members support Trump and his policies. Instead of denouncing the government, militias⁴ have instead turned their hatred⁵ against new enemies: Muslims, immigrants, and the anti-fascist⁶ group Antifa.

Some militias have been directing their attention to “secondary enemies for the movement," notes Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation⁷ League civil rights group.

Often grouped with other extremist organizations, the anti-government movement comes in different forms.

There are "preppers,” a term used to describe how they “prepare” for civil unrest by keeping large amounts of water and food.

There are "survivalists," people who learn skills to “live off the land” after a disaster.

And then there are the militiamen who take part in military-style training exercises. Their aim is to resist a government they see as secretly planning to take away their guns and constitutional rights.

Start of Modern Militia

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) says the modern U.S. militia movement dates back to a series of events in the early 1990s.

Among them was the election of Bill Clinton as president in 1992 and an attack the following year on the Branch Davidian camp in Waco, Texas. The center says militias believe that attack, by federal agents, was “evidence of an out of control government willing to attack citizens.”

During Clinton’s presidency⁸, the number of anti-government groups rose sharply. But it fell during George W. Bush's two terms as president before rising again to 1,360 under President Barack Obama.

In 2016, there were 689 anti-government groups nationwide, including 273 militias, according to the SPLC.

The militia movement’s hatred for Muslims was influenced in part by the 2008 election of Obama, the country’s first African-American president. Some Americans believe that Obama was a Muslim born in Kenya. They accuse him of being a liberal who would take away citizens’ guns.

Adding fuel to anti-Muslim hatred were a series of terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S. They included shootings, carried out by Muslim extremists, in Chattanooga, Tennessee; San Bernardino, California; and Orlando, Florida.

Law Enforcement Takes Notice

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation⁹ (FBI) was concerned. As early as May 2015, the FBI warned that militia extremists were "expanding their targets to include Muslims and Islamic religious institutions in the United States."

Because of its anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language, the 2016 election campaign influenced some militiamen to take action. It was around this time that the three men began plotting to blow up the Somali housing complex in Kansas. The men belonged to the Kansas Security Force, which was part of a larger group called the “Three Percenters.”

Along with a few other militiamen, they began meeting on Saturdays and Sundays to discuss ways to remove Muslims from the country. They formed a group to communicate and shared anti-Obama, anti-Clinton, and anti-Muslim memes on Facebook.

Using Google Earth, the Kansas militiamen identified Muslim targets in the state. They then decided¹⁰ to attack the Somali apartment building and a religious center.

To show just how extreme the three were, government lawyers questioned other members of the Kansas Security Force. One said that he left the militia after hearing about the plot. He said he had concerns that it was “turning into something more serious.” Another member said that although she hated Muslims, she objected to the plan.

Defense¹¹ lawyers tried to prove the men were just talking. And they asked Amy Cooter, an expert on militias, to give evidence. She is with Vanderbilt University’s Department of Sociology in Tennessee.

After reading statements and social media records and talking to one of the three men, Cooter said that Wright was more of a “prepper” than a militiaman. She noted¹² there was little evidence that he trained with weapons.

Cooter said Wright told her that things got “out of control” without him understanding what was happening. But the jury failed to accept the argument that all the men were doing was talking. Now the three may spend their lives in prison.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

conspiracy – n. the act of plotting together; an agreement o carry out a plan or plot

defamation – n. the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something

league – n. a group or part of a larger organization

fascist – adj. a political movement that praises the nation or race above the individual

style – n. a custom or way of doing things

institution – n. an established organization; a place where a group takes care of people

meme - n. an interesting object, such as a picture or video, that spreads through social media

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

7 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。