Kennedy, P., et al. “Round Midnight.”Sports Illus-
trated85, no. 8 (August, 1996).
Keith J. Bell
See also African Americans; Basketball; Clinton,
Bill; Crime; Limbaugh, Rush; Sports.
Militia movement
Definition A paramilitary movement that
emerged in the United States in the 1990’s
Collectively, the militias constituted the largest right-wing
movement in the United States in the decade.
Paramilitary groups are not a recent right-wing
phenomenon in the United States. In the 1930’s, a
group called the Christian Front was created to de-
fend the United States. Then, in the 1960’s, the
Minutemen was created to provide a citizen army to
fight communists, both domestic and foreign.
There were two catalysts for the 1990’s citizen mili-
tia movement: the events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and
Waco, Texas. Both were government standoffs in-
volving federal weapons violations, and both ended
with charges that federal officials had acted incor-
rectly. At Ruby Ridge, Randy Weaver, a survivalist
and Christian Identity church member, bought
sawed-off shotguns from an undercover agent in
- Weaver failed to appear in court to face the
charges. When federal marshals attempted to ar-
rest Weaver in 1992, a shoot-out occurred at
Weaver’s isolated cabin. A federal marshal and
Weaver’s wife and fourteen-year-old son were
killed. Later, Weaver was acquitted of all charges ex-
cept for failure to appear in court, and the federal
government lost a civil suit in the case.
In Waco, Texas, four federal agents were killed
in February, 1993, when the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) raided the Branch
Davidian compound of cult leader David Koresh
in search of illegal weapons. Following a fifty-one-
day siege, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) used armored vehicles and tear gas to end
the standoff; however, a fire broke out and seventy-
six men, women, and children from the religious
sect were killed. This event, like Ruby Ridge, was
seen by the radical right as an example of the fed-
eral government using unjustified force to stifle
dissent. In fact, an article inModern Militiamanmaga-
zine asserted that the militia movement was con-
ceived at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and born at Waco in
1993.
On January 1, 1994, the Militia of Montana
(MOM) was officially started by John Trochman, a
friend of Randy Weaver, in Noxon, Montana.
Trochman’s militia became a major supplier of pro-
paganda documents, paramilitary supplies, and
paramilitary manuals for the movement in the
1990’s. In April, the Michigan Militia was formed by
gun shop owner Norm Olson. This group became
one of the largest organizations, with an estimated
membership of six thousand.
Militia groups grew rapidly throughout 1994, but
few Americans were aware of the militias until the
bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in
April, 1995, that killed 168 people. This bombing, by
Timothy McVeigh, occurred on the second anniver-
sary of the Waco fire and was at first incorrectly
linked to the militias. In June, 1995, members of mi-
litia groups were called to testify before the U.S. Sen-
ate Judiciary Committee. As Americans became
more aware of the militias’ presence, militias contin-
ued to grow. By early 1996, there were paramilitary
groups in most states and an estimated membership
of forty thousand. Overall, the Southern Poverty
Law Center estimated that there were 370 militia
groups in the United States in 1996, most of which
operated autonomously. The militia movement be-
gan to decline in late 1996 because of arrests and less
hard-core members dropping out. There were nu-
merous arrests of militia members on charges of
conspiracy and of possession of illegal weapons and
explosives. By 1997, the Southern Poverty Law Cen-
ter estimated there were only 221 militia groups,
with the strongest support coming from the mid-
western and western states.Issues There were several major issues that re-
sulted in individuals becoming involved in militias.
The first issue was gun control. Militia members
were opposed to federal laws, such as the Brady bill,
that were seen as limiting the rights of citizens to
keep and bear arms. Many felt that such measures
were the first steps toward government confiscation
of all firearms. Second, militia members were suspi-
cious of government, especially the federal govern-
ment, because of events such as Ruby Ridge and
Waco. Some believed that no government was legiti-
mate above the county level. Third, many militia572 Militia movement The Nineties in America