The cockroaches tend to scatter. The groups, many of which offer paramilitary training to members to rebuff expected government attacks, first arose in the early 1990s as a reaction to fears that the federal government was about to confiscate firearms from its citizens. While many of the surviving militias now disclaim violence and terrorism, some of the more paranoid and extremist organizations still present a grave threat, experts said. During the past three years, several militia leaders have been charged in elaborate conspiracies to bomb government buildings and utilities, and to assassinate state and federal officials from judges to senators. People thought they were just a bunch of kooks running around in the woods with guns, looking for black helicopters.
Experts urge caution about other areas of militia thinking, as well.
But Wilson, the Hancock County militia commander, dismissed the notion that his organization, a smaller unit of the Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia, is racist. We're not a group that's racially biased. . . . We want all people of all races to join. Despite claims from some militia leaders that they speak for the entire movement, there is no centralized militia leadership and different chapters hold far different views, said retired FBI Special Agent Donald Bassett, who heads the independent Crisis Incident Analysis Group. The group reviews and tries to prevent violent clashes between government and patriot groups.