This is a list of active and armed militia organizations in the United States. While the two largest militias are the Oath Keepers and the 3 Percenters, there are numerous smaller groups.[ according to whom? ]
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) identified 334 militia groups at their peak in 2011. It identified 276 in 2015, up from 202 in 2014. [1] In 2016, the SPLC identified a total of 165 armed militia groups within the United States. [2] [3]
As of 2020 [update] , the following militia groups have a national presence:
Name | State | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Arizona Border Recon [upper-alpha 2] | Arizona | [9] [10] [11] |
Arizona Liberty Guard | Arizona | [12] |
Arizona State Militia | Arizona | [13] |
Southern Arizona Militia | Arizona | [12] |
Arkansas Defense Force | Arkansas | [12] |
First State Pathfinders | Delaware | [12] |
Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia | Indiana | [12] |
Kentucky Mountain Rangers | Kentucky | [12] |
Louisiana Volunteer Force | Louisiana | [12] |
Maine Militia | Maine | [12] |
Michigan Home Guard | Michigan | [12] |
Michigan Militia | Michigan | [12] |
Northwest Lower Michigan Civil Defense | Michigan | [12] |
Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia | Michigan | [12] |
Missouri Brotherhood Militia | Missouri | [12] |
Missouri Citizens Militia | Missouri | [12] [14] |
Missouri Militia | Missouri | [15] |
North Country Deplorables | New York | [16] |
New York Light Foot Militia | New York | [12] [17] |
New York Militia TM | New York | [12] |
New York Mutual Assistance Group | New York | [12] |
New Mexico Civil Guard | New Mexico | [18] [19] [20] |
Cowboys Motorcycle Club | Ohio | [12] |
The Last Militia | Ohio | [12] |
Ohio Irregulars | Ohio | [12] |
Ohio Valley Minutemen Citizen's Volunteer Militia | Ohio | [12] |
West Ohio Minutemen | Ohio | [12] |
Appalachian Associators | Pennsylvania | [12] |
Iron City Citizen's Response Unit (CRU) | Pennsylvania | [12] [21] [22] [23] [24] |
Pennsylvania Armare Woodsmen | Pennsylvania | [12] |
Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia | Pennsylvania | [12] |
Pennsylvania State Militia | Pennsylvania | [12] |
Rhode Island Patriots | Rhode Island | [12] |
Texas State Militia | Texas | [25] [26] |
This Is Texas Freedom Force | Texas | [27] [28] |
Green Mountain Militia | Vermont | [12] |
Washington Light Foot Militia | Washington | [29] |
West Virginia Light Foot Militia | West Virginia | [12] |
State | Name | Location |
---|---|---|
Alabama | Alabama Constitutional Militia | Clanton |
South Alabama Militia | Dothan | |
Alaska | Alaska Citizens Militia | Nikiski |
Arizona | Arizona Freedom Militia | Mohave |
Northern Arizona Militia | Golden Valley | |
Arkansas | Arkansas State Militia Corps | Mansfield |
California | California State Militia | Bay Area |
Northern | ||
Sacramento County | ||
Southern | ||
Florida | Florida Militia | Central |
Northeast | ||
Northwest | ||
Southern | ||
Idaho | Idaho Light Foot Militia | Kootenai County |
Meridian | ||
Illinois | Illinois Sons of Liberty | Chicago |
Indiana | Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Lake County |
Kentucky | KY County Rangers | Bath County |
Maine | Maine Volunteer Responders | Gardiner |
Michigan | Capitol City Militia | Clinton County |
Genesee County Volunteer Militia | Genesee County | |
Michigan Liberty Militia | Barry County | |
Michigan Peoples' Reactionary Force | Genesee County | |
Michigan Wolf Pack | Gratiot County | |
Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Lapeer County | |
Macomb County | ||
Wayne County | ||
Mississippi | Citizens Militia of Mississippi | Batesville |
Carroll County | ||
Missouri | 417 Second Amendment Militia [30] | Hartville |
Missouri Citizens Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Washington County | |
Missouri Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Joplin | |
Kansas City | ||
Springfield | ||
St. Joseph | ||
New Hampshire | Patriot Mutual Assistance Group | Rindge |
New York | New York Lightfoot Militia [31] [32] [33] | Delaware, County |
Liberty State Militia | Chenango County | |
New York Militia TM [upper-alpha 4] | Albany County | |
Mohawk Valley Region | ||
New York Mutual Assistance Group | Orange County | |
Suffolk County | ||
North Carolina | Stokes County Militia | King |
Ohio | The Frontiersmen | Ravenna |
The Last Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Allen County | |
Butler County | ||
Clark County | ||
Hamilton County | ||
Montgomery County | ||
Summit County | ||
Trumbull County | ||
North East Ohio Outdoorsman | East Rochester | |
Ohio Defense Force Home Guard | Cincinnati | |
Cleveland | ||
New Lexington | ||
Zanesville | ||
Reapers Constitutional Militia of Ohio | Cortland | |
Oregon | Central Oregon Constitutional Guard | Redmond |
Pennsylvania | Carlisle Light Infantry | Cumberland County |
Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Militia | Wyomissing | |
Iron City Citizen's Response Unit (CRU) | Allegheny | |
Pennsylvania Homeland Shield | Clarksburg | |
Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Berks County | |
Bradford County | ||
Juniata County | ||
Luzerne County | ||
Schuylkill County | ||
Tioga County | ||
Westmoreland County | ||
South Carolina | South Carolina Light Foot Militia | Horry County |
Tennessee | 1st Tennessee Rifles UMIT | Lafayette |
East Tennessee Mountain Militia | Knoxville | |
Tennessee Defence Legion | Chester | |
Alamo Militia | San Antonio | |
Golden Triangle Militia | Groves | |
Orange | ||
Texas Light Foot Militia | Tyler | |
Texas State Militia | Austin | |
Big Spring | ||
Houston | ||
Washington | Washington Light Foot Militia [upper-alpha 4] | Spokane County |
West Virginia | Ohio Valley Minutemen Citizen's Volunteer Militia [upper-alpha 5] | Charleston |
Wisconsin | Kenosha Guard [34] | Kenosha |
Several militia organizations have since become inactive including:
Name | Location | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1st Mechanical Kansas Militia | Kansas | [35] |
Citizens for Constitutional Freedom | New Mexico | |
Connecticut White Wolves | Connecticut | [36] |
Gadsden Minutemen | Alabama | [37] |
Kentucky State Militia | Kentucky | [38] |
Militia of Montana | Montana | [39] |
North American Militia | Michigan | [40] |
Ohio Defense Force | Ohio | [41] |
North American Militia | Michigan | [42] [43] |
Pennsylvania Military Reserve | Pennsylvania | [44] [45] |
San Joaquin County Militia | California | [46] |
Southern California High Desert Militia | California | [47] |
Southern Indiana Regional Militia | Indiana | [48] |
Texas Emergency Reserve | Texas | [49] |
Texas Light Foot Militia (statewide) | Texas | [50] |
Cube Earth Armed Defense Force | Motley, Minnesota | [51] |
Ohio Unorganized Militia Assistance and Advisory Committee | Ohio | [52] |
Oklahoma Constitutional Militia | Oklahoma | [53] |
Viper Militia | Arizona | [54] |
Washington State Militia | Washington | [55] [56] |
West Virginia Mountaineer Militia | Clarksburg, West Virginia | [57] |
Wolverine Watchmen | Michigan | [58] |
Pennsylvania Free Militia | Pennsylvania |
In the United States, state defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.
American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized militia, and constitutional militia. While groups such as the Posse Comitatus existed as early as the 1980s, the movement gained momentum after standoffs with government agents in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, such groups were active in all 50 US states, with membership estimated at between 20,000 and 60,000. The movement is most closely associated with the American right-wing.
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directing Bundy to pay over $1 million in withheld grazing fees for Bundy's use of federally owned land adjacent to Bundy's ranch in southeastern Nevada.
Liwa Fatemiyoun, literally "Fatimid Banner", also known as Fatemiyoun Division or Fatemiyoun Brigade, is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government. The group's officially designated purpose, is the defense of the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, and to fight "takfiri terrorists" in Syria, which would come to include the Islamic State (IS). It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. Both the Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian government downplay their relationship with one another, despite clear coordination and the brigade's operation under the auspices of the IRGC. Liwa Fatemiyoun is also closely associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan.
The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.
The Three Percenters are an American and Canadian far-right anti-government militia.
Glen Clay Higgins is an American politician and reserve law enforcement officer from the state of Louisiana. A Republican, Higgins is the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. The district, which contains much of the territory once represented by former governor Edwin Edwards and former U.S. senator John Breaux, is in the southwestern corner of the state and includes Lafayette, Lake Charles, and New Iberia. Higgins won the runoff election on December 10, 2016, defeating fellow Republican Scott Angelle.
The Missouri Citizens Militia (MCM) is a private militia in the U.S. state of Missouri.
The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois, is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States. It has also been described as a militia. Adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War or second American Revolution which they call "the boogaloo" or "the boog".
The Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC) is a black nationalist militia, part of the militia movement in the United States. The group advocates for black liberation and separatism. It has been described by news outlets as a "Black militia". It denies any connection to the Black Panther Party or Black Lives Matter.
Elmer Stewart Rhodes III is an American former attorney and convicted seditionist. He founded the Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia. In November 2022, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering related to his participation in the January 6 Insurrection culminating at the main campus of the United States Capitol complex. On May 23, 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the House select committee investigating the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
Supporters of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, held small-scale armed protests and demonstrations at U.S. state capitols in the five days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, in opposition to the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, which continued after the failure of the violent January 6 attempt to overturn the election in Trump's favor. Pro-Trump groups failed to stage organized dissent or affect the transition of power in an environment of deterrence and heightened security.
Since its foundation in 2016, members of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization, have been involved in a number controversial and violent events. This list contains a number of those events, some of which have resulted in criminal charges being filed against participants.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, multiple individuals plotted to use force to stop the peaceful transition of power; this was one aspect of what eventually led to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. Fourteen members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys militias were convicted of seditious conspiracy for planning and leading the attack, while an unidentified pipe-bomber remains at-large.
Guy Wesley Reffitt is an American convicted criminal who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was a member of the Three Percenters and was the first defendant to be convicted for the attack.
The Oath Keepers is a major militia in the state of Kentucky. The militia has recruited hundreds of members from the state and has conducted activities in the state.
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ignored (help)During the late twentieth century, small bands of civilians... formed private militias groups... often ultraconservative and anti-government... Running the gamut from loosely knit social clubs to highly organized units such as the Pennsylvania Military Reserve...