(3 of 3)
But most militia groups claim to be nonracial, nonpolitical outfits ( interested only in preserving the Constitution and core American values. Dean Compton, a real estate agent and California militia member, says members aren't consumed by ideology: "I still play with my kids. I still go to the movies. It's not all gloom and doom." Compton also says neo-Nazis and white supremacists were purged from his militia, and they're not welcome back: "If they're crazies, we don't want 'em."
But analyst Mike Reynolds of the Southern Poverty Law Center says some of the people emerging as militia leaders have ties with hate-mongering groups. "They are being very canny about it," says Reynolds. "They aren't going around lighting torches and burning crosses at these meetings. They are using code words. Instead of talking about the Zionist occupation, they talk about the new world order. It's the same old stuff dressed up for the '90s."
Militia recruiters have no shortage of fears to play on. Recently, members of the Militia of Michigan stopped by the Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting room in the town of L'Anse to scout for new members. The local timber and mining industries are fading, and an area Air Force base is set to close next year. Residents, looking in vain for new solutions to old problems, were good targets for the militia message. Said logger and school board member Sonny Thoren: "I can't tell the difference between Democrats and Republicans anymore."
The patriots, to him, seemed to offer a clear alternative. They had bold ideas and big guns. After the meeting, Thoren and four others stood next to a flag in the corner of the room, underneath a gun case filled with vintage M-1 rifles, and took the oath to join the militia. A new brigade was born.