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American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized militia,[1] and constitutional militia.[2] While groups such as the Posse Comitatus existed as early as the 1980s,[3] the movement gained momentum after standoffs with government agents in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, such groups were active in all 50 US states, with membership estimated at between 20,000 and 60,000.[4] The movement is most closely associated with the American right-wing. Most modern organizations calling themselves militias are illegal private paramilitary organizations laws that require official sanctioning of a state government in order to be constitutional.[5][6] While a common belief among members of modern paramilitary groups is that the constitution protects the ability of citizens to have the capability to overthrow the government by force when seen tyrannical, the Supreme Court has ruled differently.[5][6]
- ^ Mulloy, Darren (2004) American Extremism: History, Politics and the Militia Movement, Routledge.
- ^ Williams, David C. (2003) The mythic meanings of the Second Amendment: taming political violence in a constitutional republic. Yale University Press. p. 363. ISBN 0-300-09562-7
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CAMOwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Berlet, Chip & Lyons, Matthew (2000). Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort Archived April 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Guilford. ISBN 1-57230-562-2
- ^ a b "Fact Sheets on Unlawful Militias for All 50 States". Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. September 22, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ a b McQuade, Barbara (2024). "Chapter 8". Attack from within: how disinformation is sabotaging America. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-64421-363-6.