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Montana's Militia Movement After Sept. 11
Robert Siegel Revisits the Hotbed of the 'Patriot' Movement
 Listen to Robert Siegel's report.
Sept. 11, 2002 -- Until one year ago, the worst act of terrorism on American soil was the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bomber was a fellow American -- Timothy McVeigh, a decorated military veteran.
McVeigh's saga shed a bright light on the growing anti-government movement within our own borders. He was loosely associated with so-called militias -- modern-day "Minutemen," well-armed and wary of the federal government and environmental groups.
"This summer, we went back to northwest Montana, to see what's become of some of the people who inspired such alarm not so long ago," says All Things Considered senior host Robert Siegel. "People like John Trochmann in Noxon, Montana -- population 230, according to the last census."
In the wake of federal law enforcement fiascos at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, Trochmann, 59, gained a following among those who shared his mistrust in the federal government.
Later, Trochmann's Militia of Montana profited from the millennial anxiety over the Y2K computer bug. At preparedness expos and by mail order, he sold survival kits for the impending catastrophe. "The catastrophe never came, and pretty soon, the crowds stopped coming, too," Siegel says.
But after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Trochmann says the phones started ringing again. "Sinister groups within our government, I believe, moved to and fro to do what they will to cause the chaos to happen in our country," he tells Siegel. "The people that gained were those that profit from oil -- and that's where Bush and Cheney would fit right in the middle of it."
Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont, who's very familiar with militia groups in his jurisdiction, does not approve of Trochmann rhetoric, but says that most militia members are well-intentioned citizens.
"We have a friendly militia here that is set up as a bunch of good folks -- they are here to help," he says. "They have crazy thoughts of a U.N. takeover that you really need to laugh at once in a while."
Frank Egan is one of Sheriff Dupont's "friendly militiamen." He shares a common distrust of the United Nations and environmental groups, but tells Siegel he and his associates are more interested in self-reliance in the event of a societal collapse. "It's basically an information group for survival, for the purposes of organizing -- getting food, clothing ammunition, firearms."
But even Chip Berlet, who tracks militia groups from Boston, Mass. for Political Research Associates, concedes there are some causes where militia groups may find common ground with their political counterparts on the left -- for instance, the powers granted to the federal government by the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, which some fear could be used to violate the constitutional rights of citizens.
"The Montana militiamen also remind us of something else: just as there are twisted explanations of Sept. 11 that enjoy credence overseas, small groups in this country also view events through a distorting prism of suspicion and conspiracy," Siegel says.
Other Resources
• Militia of Montana
• The Public Eye is the Web site Chip Berlet's Political Research Associates group. Berlet is the co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close For Comfort (Guilford Press -- ISBN:1572305622)
• Montana Human Rights Network
• KGEZ.com
• The Militia Watchdog, created by the Anti-Defamation League, has an extensive list of links to the Web sites of militia groups across the United States.
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