Are Militias Formed with the Intent to Attack or Overthrow the Government?

A common misconception is that all private militia organizations are designed for the sole intent of carrying out paramilitary, offensive actions against a tyrannical government with an attempt to overthrow and replace it. Most patriots do not take such an extreme view or plan or engage in any actions to violently attack government leaders or institutions without provocation. In fact, most adhere to religious and moral values, which prohibit them from taking such actions absent the spilling of blood by an aggressor, which might be taken by agents or troops of a tyrannical government or any other enemy of the people, including foreign or domestic invaders.

The militia is essentially the sword of the people and it may be wielded against any foreign or domestic enemy, including the armies of a despotic government, which remains our right to overthrow or abolish, as clearly detailed within the Declaration of Independence.  There is no malicious intent of the majority of the American people, as militia, to conduct any offensive militant action against the government in an attempt to overthrow it.  However, there may come a time when this Republic fails, as many have done in the past, where violence may be required to protect our freedom.

Many wrongfully suggest that the militia is made up of only those would would like to engage in acts of sedition or insurrection, which are illegal according to our Constitution.  However, the people have a rights.  If those rights are trampled upon by the Government, and a long train of abuses warrants it, Revolution may be required to restore lawful order and adherence to our Constitution, which would be an effort to protect and preserve it, rather than destroy it.  It is not usually a consideration of many within the militia movement to overthrow the government, yet some do hold that the tyrants who have seized control of political office, having violated their oath, must be removed and replaced.

While some groups who call themselves militia have leaders or members who prefer a complete overthrow of the government, these views are widely held as extreme and should not define the entire armed, able-bodied population of this nation who have a moral and legal obligation to provide for their defense.  They are militia, as most of you reading this are militia, yet some of them prefer to operate outside of the guidance of a civil authority, appointed by the people of their communities.

Please read the Association Founder's message below, which was first presented in response to a forum post on a patriot movement related website, with the original post suggesting that the militia is waiting for a leader to step up and make the first move or attack, frustrated by inaction.

In the past few months preparing the launch of the American Militia Association (which is still not completely ready yet) I pondered these very questions. When I thought long and hard, researched the militia and patriot movement in great detail, and took into account the vast negative public image of the militia, and some of the reasons behind those views, the need for the organization I had in mind became increasingly apparent. What saddens me is the basic knowledge that for a majority of American citizens, should an enemy rise from within and come to your door with the full power and might of a great and powerful force, such intimidation has and will continue to have the effect of submission or unjust death.

You may be comfortable that your own local militia group will come to your aid, you may have a cache of weapons able to ward off an enemy, but for how long? A "shot heard around the world" is quite different from just another "first shot". How many members will come to your aid? Will other units join them? What sort of impact would there be on a national level? All of these questions have a number of variables that might dictate the reaction at the local and national level. The media of course may distort the true information of the incident as they usually do, making your group out to be a religious cult or terrorist organization, proposing that the actions of the offensive force were just. Such isolated incidents therefore have a propensity to fail, prohibiting a large scale call to arms.

Of significance importance when considering actions against an offensive force is who in fact are members of such a force. When speaking of a tyrannical government in your own country, those in the offensive force are your fellow countrymen. With an isolated incident, where all the actual and genuine facts are not public knowledge, it would be a difficult road for a militia leader to suggest for a call to arms of its membership. It is also important to understand that any units that do in fact take to guns will likely be branded as subversive insurgents that need to be put down, and you might see a larger event of mass death, which again may be slighted by the media and not have any cumulative impact.

The militia is more than a force armed with weapons, as it is essentially a segment of the American People who have banded together for the defense of life and liberty, but such force can not be yielded lightly. The militia's real strength is in its numbers, its genuine ability to provide an adequate defense and the impact of those strengths on the minds of would be tyrants. Only in the presence of such genuine strength shall tyrants fear the "pissing off" of the militia, as such strength would coincide with an overwhelming consensus of the electorate, to a significant minority level. The would be war can be won without the militia ever firing any shot if such were true. To that same effect, if the consensus of the electorate over the shared views of the militia were in a majority, real change could take place in a peaceful manner.

When I joined this forum, I read that members here should not discuss the overthrow of a tyrannical government, and I would agree that such discussion can further lead to a decrease in the strength of the militia, as such speech (which I agree should be protected by the First Amendment) does have an effect of presenting an image to many of those in the electorate that our ideas are extremist in nature and leads to an increase in the negative public opinion of the militia as terrorist groups.

The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights are very well written and intentioned documents, and have provided the people with a means to prevent the abuse and desecration of our civil rights, by affording us an electoral process, by which we can bring about change. The change that we have seen over the past 200 years has been controlled by majorities who at times have views that have been contrary to those of our founding fathers, and contrary to many of our own patriotic beliefs. These views remain the right of those who possess them, even when contrary to our own, and even when in defiance of the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The best work that we can do, as patriots, is to teach and lead by example to our fellow countrymen that such views are in fact wrong and bad for our nation, and to stand united in our principles and to raise the level of awareness of what is just and what is unjust and that we the people are the true sovereign power of this nation.

While it may seem impossible to rise up as a majority, doing so is not necessary to achieve many of the goals we share as patriots. A large and credible minority can be just as effective to bring about change. Our end game should not be violence, but to build our numbers in such strength as to hold a substantially large enough stick to beat off the stones cast upon us by those attempting to prevent our rise as true defenders of the Constitution of the United States. Be visible, I agree, but be careful in your rhetoric regarding action, and support the growth of our movement in the hearts and minds of our brothers who have been lead astray.

If you want to step up, teach your brothers. Every lie may be countered with fact and truth. Convert your enemy to stand with you side by side in perfect willingness. Its for that purpose that I have found a calling to create the American Militia Association which I soon hope will be a powerful voice for all patriots and a benefit to those of our countrymen who have been continuously lied to by the media and the real subversive groups that exist to tear down the principles upon which this nation was founded.

Am I saying that we should put away our guns and stand down? No. When life is at peril, it is our duty to protect it when we are able. This includes the lives of our fellow countrymen who may be under the spell of lies, which should demand our equal protection. The taking of life should never be taken likely.

What is it that you are truly waiting for? A leader who will make the "first move"? As you quite wisely stated, "I am not sure what the first step should be".

You sir have already taken your own first step when you became a patriot and found others to join you in your cause. We all take that first step when we do so. In my opinion that is what our goals should be, to help our brothers take the same step you did. Eventually the weight of our feet will stand on the proverbial necks of our enemy.