Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons

About the author: Chip Berlet is an analyst at Political Research Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Matthew N. Lyons is a freelance writer and independent historian. They are the authors of Too Close for Comfort: Rightwing Populism, Scapegoating, and Fascist Potentials in U.S. Politics.

Armed militias are the militant branch of the five-million-member right-wing Patriot movement. Individuals within this movement adhere to a variety of ideologies, including white supremacy and Christian fundamentalism. Although it was the most devastating, the 1995 bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building was not the first violent act linked to militias and it may not be the last. Some of the militia members' grievances, such as economic hardship and government intrusiveness, are legitimate. Unless society addresses these grievances, scapegoating by militias against their enemies will increase and may...