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Articles on Militias

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Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, at left, and group member Joe Biggs were sentenced to many years in federal prison. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

How local police could help prevent another January 6th-style insurrection

The Proud Boys are more of a loosely affiliated street gang than they are a unified right-wing militia, researchers say. But police ignore the threats from these groups, and their threats grow.
Barry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox were found guilty by a federal jury on charges related to a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer. Kent County Sheriff's Office via AP

Conviction of two Michigan kidnap plotters highlights danger of violent conspiracies to US democracy

Two men accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 have been found guilty. Their backgrounds and the trial itself raise concerns about the role of extremism in America.
The Second Amendment declares the importance of state-government authorized militias, like these National Guard troops guarding the California State Capitol building. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

Why the Second Amendment protects a ‘well-regulated militia’ but not a private citizen militia

A recent federal court ruling appeared to expand Second Amendment rights to private citizen militias, which a historian of early America explains is not what the founders intended.
Virginia National Guard troops in front of the U.S. Capitol building, Feb. 5, 2021. Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

How the National Guard became the go-to military force for riots and civil disturbances

Some 5,000 National Guardsmen will stay in Washington to protect the Capitol into March, according to the Pentagon. The Guard is seen as a reliable peacekeeping force – but it wasn’t always that way.
A person wearing attire with the words Proud Boys on it joins supporters of former President Donald Trump in a march on Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Designating the Proud Boys a terrorist organization won’t stop hate-fuelled violence

The Proud Boys have been designated a terrorist organization in Canada. But without addressing the means of organizing, this designation won’t put a stop to right-wing extremism.
Some 25,000 National Guard troops protected Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration due to fears of a far-right extremist attack. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

US could face a simmering, chronic domestic terror problem, warn security experts

Far-right extremists in the US have the potential to mount a coordinated, low-intensity campaign of political violence. It wouldn’t be the country’s first experience with domestic terror.
Militia members associated with the Three Percenters movement conducting a military drill in Flovilla, Ga., in 2016, days after Trump’s election. After his 2020 defeat, Three Percenters were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Image

Police, soldiers bring lethal skill to militia campaigns against US government

A leaked database shows at least 10% of the far-right Oath Keepers militia is active police or military – people professionally trained in using weapons and conducting sophisticated operations.

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