Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Trend
seen in militia growth
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT
The actions of the Christian militia group raided in Michigan are part of a growing trend of militant activity across the U.S. because of the weak economy and a black president, experts and a civil-rights group say.
Hutaree, a militia based in Lenawee County, Mich., reportedly planned an uprising against the U.S. government by plotting to murder police.
“I don’t think this is the last we’re going to see of these groups,” said Michael Barkun, a professor of political science at Syracuse University who studies religious violence and extremism. “The number of such groups has increased fairly dramatically in the last couple of years.”
The number of extremist anti-government groups and militias grew from 149 in 2008 to 512 in 2009, said Heidi Beirich, director of research at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil-rights group that monitors extremism.
“That is a lot of change in a short period of time,” Beirich said.
She said factors include the poor economy and demographic changes in the country’s racial and ethnic composition — symbolized by a black man in the White House and a female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Both are Democrats and seen by some as pushing for bigger government that will diminish their freedom.
“The country is becoming more diverse,” Beirich said. “Some people find it hard to handle ... these are extreme stressors for people.”
Hutaree — which means “Christian warrior” — is a group based in Lenawee County that federal prosecutors describe as “an anti-government extremist organization which advocates against local, state and federal law- venforcement officials.”
Beirich said that Hutaree was not isolated from other militias, noting that it had more than 363 friends on MySpace, including militias in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan.
But one militia leader in Michigan said Hutaree was not connected to them in any way, describing Hutaree as a fringe cult.
“They more closely fit the definition of a cult,” said Michael Lackomar, with the Southeastern Michigan Volunteer Militia and michiganmilitia.com.
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