Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Will Militia Groups Be Painted As A Clear And Present Danger?

The recent arrest of members of a Michigan based Militia group has focused attention again on the right wing. The so-called violent actions of the Tea Party movement failed to gain much traction so now we have the Justice Department bringing action against this militia group. I know nothing of this group, other than what as been released by Eric Holders Justice Department. If the charges are true, then this is a very extreme group and they should be prosecuted. Generally militia groups do not target local police, some do however put their cross-hairs on federal authorities. Neither is acceptable!

The danger, the real danger here is not so much this specific militia group, although they do appear to have been a threat from the information released by the feds, but the tendency of the federal government to over-reach and paint those groups on the right with a broad brush and turn events such as this into a witch hunt to pursue other groups who are not a threat to national security. I saw this happen first hand in the 1960's during the LBJ years following his land side election in 1964. He felt that election gave him a green light to attack and destroy those he saw as enemies, not so much of the state, but of his personal agenda. I fear that Barack Obama and Eric Holder will do the same. And that incidents such as this will only be a first step in what will become a much wider attack on right wings groups who do not present a danger to life and are certainly NOT a clear and present danger to the nation. This event did not happen in a vacumn so we must view it in the context of the current political landscape and ask ourselves, why now!


Michigan Militia Group Charged With Police-Killing Plot

The FBI conducted weekend raids in three states and arrested eight people tied to a Michigan-based militia group that authorities say was conspiring to kill police officers.

Mar. 28: Michigan State Police guard a home in Clayton after the FBI raided the home of a suspected militia leader.
WASHINGTON -- Nine suspects tied to a militia in the Midwest are charged with conspiring to kill police officers, then attack a funeral in the hopes of killing more law enforcement people, federal prosecutors said Monday.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said agents moved on the group because the Hutaree members were planning a violent reconnaissance mission sometime in April -- just a few days away.

Members of the group called Hutaree are charged in the case, including their leader, David Brian Stone, also known as "Captain Hutaree."

Once other officers gathered for a slain officer's funeral, the group planned to detonate homemade bombs at the funeral, killing more, according to newly unsealed court papers.

The indictment includes charges of seditious conspiracy, possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, teaching the use of explosives, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction -- homemade bombs.

The indictment charges members of the group conspired "to levy war against the United States, (and) to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States."

The charges follow FBI raids over the weekend on locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

According to investigators, the purportedly Christian Hutaree militia view local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel as a "brotherhood" and an enemy, and planned to attack them as part of an armed struggle against the U.S. government.

Eight suspects have been arrested by the FBI, and one more is being sought. Of the eight captured, seven are due in court later Monday.

Andrew Arena, head of the FBI's field office in Detroit, said the case "is an example of radical and extremist fringe groups which can be found throughout our society. The FBI takes such extremist groups seriously, especially those who would target innocent citizens and the law enforcement officers who protect the citizens of the United States". Read more at FOX News

11 comments:

hbl said...

Don't assume these people are right-wingers. They could just as easily be left-wingers (communists or neo-nazis) trying to foment unrest.

TexasFred said...

hbl brings up an interesting, and highly possible point.

The MEDIA has touted them as *Christian*, we KNOW they aren't, Christians don't seek to murder the innocent.

Maybe they went SO FAR to the right they went off the charts and became left... Ya gotta end up somewhere...

The Born Again American said...

The clear and present danger comes from Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder, the whackjobs that Obama appointed... These people are only looking to further their own agenda by trying to paint the right as a bunch of extremists...
They fear us, not because we pose a physical threat, but we threaten to expose their socialist agenda...

Right Truth said...

Ron, your fears are legitimate. When you have all major media backing the Liberals/Obama, they are going to use what little influence they still have to paint the TEA party people as having some violent intentions and some connections to the 'militias'.

However, there are reports out today that say this group was neither "militia" nor "Christian". CNN I believe had one report.

They are just a bunch of criminals that planned to kill police.

Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

Unknown said...

While this group may have posed a threat, and if they did they should be held accountable, I fear that the Obama administration is going to use this to justify more gun laws and gun control in addition to the possibility of cracking down on right wing groups that pose no threat of danger. The plan was laid out several months ago with Janet Napolitano's right wing extremist report.

Unknown said...

What I find interesting is that they are going after a Christian group, but are doing nothing about the gangs coming across the border.

MathewK said...

First of all, no one should be breaking the law, be they Christian or liberal. But…. I think stories like this will serve to further the agendas of liberal racists who only want to demonize Christianity and target peaceful Christians. Christianity is a religion of peace and the actions of a few loners should not be a trigger to smear all law-abiding and peaceful Christians. As president obama would say, we shouldn’t rush to judge, so I believe liberals should follow his example and refrain from passing judgment and inciting their followers to attack peaceful Christians.

In fact, I think that spreading stories like this only serves to fuel hatred of Christianity among liberal racists and may even cause some Christians to radicalize when faced with this us-and-them mentality and anti-Christian hostility from liberals. Personally I believe that if liberal leaders were to leave their unwarranted phobia and dislike of Christianity behind and come out to remind their followers to reach out and respect Christians and their beliefs instead of demonizing them, this would go a long way to heal past wounds and injustices perpetrated by liberals. Thank you.

PatriotUSA said...

This will be used to alarm and scare the public against
anyone who the administration
'labels' a danger to their socialist agenda.
That includes any of us
who own guns or even
disagree with these demosialistacrats.
With Holder and
Napolitano drooling to
go after those who are the watchers on the walls of Jerusalem, this
is just the start of a much darker
chapter in the Obama nightmare.

Trestin, you raise a great point.
Our borders are another front
in the war on terror as far as
I am concerned. Plus this will be used against ALL who ar opposed
to the socialist in the White
House.

If this group was planning to kill law enforcement people, then that
must be taken care of. That is right no matter what the group is.

TexasFred said...

What I find interesting is that they are going after a Christian group,
*********************
What I find interesting is all the so-called Conservatives that are buying into this *Christian Militia* bullshit...

Christians don't plan MURDER so they can draw in crowds to commit MORE murder... Wake the hell up man, Christian is NOT what these people are...

Teresa said...

I don't think that these people were really Christians. They seem to be whack jobs out to get the government using any means to do so. Obama and Holder are a major concern because they are trying to paint Tea Partiers and right-wingers as violent, when in fact we aren't.

christian soldier said...

Succinctly put-thank you---
C-CS