They say they are law-abiding citizens and don't typically think about police violence as something likely to affect them personally. In the past, I have seen groups like this oppose police brutality, but usually abstractly or by objecting to violent, individual officers - so-called "bad apples" - rather than systemic racism. I spent three years embedded with the militias in Michigan, doing interviews and ethnographic research, and continue to observe and directly ask members about their motivations for different actions. My research and analysis of militia groups is based on much more than online posts. Their public activity has long championed the importance of individual constitutional rights, and they believe in the right to use armed resistance against government overreach.īut many of these groups' members have also been supporters of the president, who is now speaking openly of taking the sort of far-reaching government action these groups have long warned against. That puts these groups in a curious position. Many protesters are facing off against well-armed officers and National Guard troops, with President Donald Trump threatening to send in federal troops. In the wake of George Floyd's death while in police custody, citizens are protesting in American streets against police violence. So-called "militias" and "patriot groups" have different beliefs and viewpoints, but most of these citizen-focused organizations share a concern about government infringement on individual liberties. This article was originally published on The Conversation.
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