The American militia movement is a loose, decentralized network of private paramilitary groups united by anti-government ideology and the belief that armed citizens are the last check against federal tyranny. It has no central command, no membership rolls, and no single leader. What binds it together is a shared worldview — rooted in colonial-era distrust of standing armies, sharpened by a handful of federal confrontations in the 1990s, and revived repeatedly by political flashpoints ever since.
Despite the movement’s frequent invocation of the Constitution, private militia activity is not legally protected. Every state restricts it in some form, and the Supreme Court has said so plainly. The gap between what these groups claim about the law and what the law actually says is where most of the confusion sits.
Where the Movement Came From
The modern movement coalesced in the early 1990s, drawing ideological threads from earlier formations like Posse Comitatus and the sovereign citizen and tax-protest movements. Three events in quick succession lit the fuse.
In 1992, federal agents besieged the Idaho cabin of white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge. Weaver’s wife, his son, and a U.S. Marshal were killed. The following year, the FBI’s siege of a Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas ended with 76 deaths and became the movement’s defining grievance — proof, in its telling, that the federal government would use lethal force against citizens who resisted its authority.1CSIS. Examining Extremism: Militia Movement Then came the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in 1993 and the federal assault weapons ban in 1994, which added gun-control fears to the mix and accelerated the formation of new groups.2ADL. The Militia Movement (2020)
On April 19, 1995 — the second anniversary of the Waco fire — Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people in what the FBI calls the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.3FBI. Oklahoma City Bombing McVeigh was not a formal militia member, but he was steeped in the movement’s ideology and driven by rage over Waco.4Brennan Center for Justice. Remembering the Oklahoma City Bombing 25 Years Later McVeigh was executed in June 2001. His co-conspirator Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison and remains at the federal supermax in Florence, Colorado.
Public exposure came at a cost to the movement. The FBI reallocated resources, expanded its Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and drove the number of tracked militia groups from a peak of 370 in 1996 down to 68 by 1999. After September 11, federal attention shifted to international terrorism, and the domestic militia threat receded from view.1CSIS. Examining Extremism: Militia Movement
The movement revived sharply around 2008, fueled by opposition to President Obama, economic anxiety, and the emergence of the Tea Party. Social media made recruitment easier than it had ever been. Late that year, Mike Vanderboegh coined the “Three Percenter” concept, based on the unsubstantiated claim that only three percent of American colonists took up arms in the Revolution. The framing — that a small, dedicated cadre could resist government tyranny — became one of the movement’s most durable recruiting tools.5ADL. Three Percenters By 2010 and 2011, the movement had reached an estimated 100,000 or more adherents.2ADL. The Militia Movement (2020)
The Major Groups
The movement has never operated as a single organization. It functions as an ecosystem of national networks, regional groups, and unaffiliated individuals. A few names appear repeatedly.
Oath Keepers
Founded by Stewart Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate and former Army paratrooper, the Oath Keepers recruited primarily from current and former military, law enforcement, and first responders. It operated as a national umbrella with state and local chapters, running what members called a “two-edged sword” strategy: a public political apparatus paired with paramilitary training. After Rhodes was arrested in January 2022 on seditious conspiracy charges, leadership passed to Bobby Kinch, described as the national director.6ProPublica. AP3 Oath Keepers Militia Mole
Three Percenters
The Three Percenters are not a single group but a constellation of organizations, online networks, and individuals who self-identify with the label. The only requirement is self-identification, and the Roman numeral “III” — often surrounded by 13 stars — serves as the universal symbol.5ADL. Three Percenters Named national organizations include The Three Percenters – Original, American Patriots The III% (AP3), United Patriots 3%, and the Three Percent Security Force, alongside numerous state spin-offs.7New Lines Institute. Three Percenter Movement Profile
AP3, one of the more organized formations, once claimed 40,000 to 50,000 members, though its roster dropped to the low thousands after January 6. Led by former Army reservist Scot Seddon, it used military nomenclature, ran state chapters, promoted itself through food drives and other humanitarian work, conducted armed border patrols in Texas, and courted local law enforcement for intelligence and logistical support.8ProPublica. Inside the Secret World of AP3
Proud Boys
Often grouped with militia organizations, the Proud Boys are more accurately an “alt lite” street-fighting group with ties to the militia movement. Their leadership played a central role in the January 6 Capitol attack, producing seditious conspiracy convictions for several of them.
Is It Legal to Form a Private Militia?
No. Every state in the country has at least one constitutional or statutory provision prohibiting unauthorized private military activity. Twenty-eight states explicitly ban groups from organizing as private military units without state authorization. Twenty-five criminalize paramilitary training intended for use in civil disorder. Forty-eight have constitutional clauses requiring the military to remain subordinate to civilian authority.9National Association of Attorneys General. Prohibiting Private Armies at Public Rallies
The foundational Supreme Court case is Presser v. Illinois (1886). Herman Presser led roughly 400 armed members of a German-American association through the streets of Chicago without a license from the governor. The Court upheld his conviction, ruling that states have the power to prohibit voluntary military organizations to maintain public peace, and that military organization, drill, and parade are “especially under the control of the government” and cannot be claimed as a right independent of law.10Cornell Law Institute. Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252
Presser has never been overturned. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), while recognizing an individual right to bear arms for self-defense, the Court explicitly reaffirmed that the Second Amendment “does not prevent the prohibition of private paramilitary organizations.”11Georgetown Law ICAP. Dispelling the Myth of the Second Amendment Later decisions — McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) — expanded individual gun rights but left the private-militia prohibition untouched.12Cornell Law Institute. Second Amendment
Enforcement of state anti-militia statutes was rare until the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, when armed private militias operated openly alongside white-nationalist groups. Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection sued on behalf of the city and secured court orders against 23 defendants in July 2018, eventually obtaining permanent consent decrees barring specific militia groups from returning as unauthorized armed formations.13Georgetown Law ICAP. City of Charlottesville v. Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia The case became a template, though broader enforcement remains limited.14William & Mary Law Review. Anti-Militia Statutes Enforcement
No federal statute prohibits private paramilitary activity the way state laws do. In January 2024, Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Edward Markey introduced the Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act, which would let the Justice Department seek injunctions against such groups, create a private right of action for people harmed by their conduct, and establish criminal penalties tied to injury or property damage. The bill exempts historical reenactments and veterans’ parades.15Congressman Jamie Raskin. Raskin and Markey Introduce Legislation to Stop Private Paramilitary Activity
The “Unorganized Militia” Argument
Modern private militias frequently point to federal law to justify their existence. Under 10 U.S.C. § 246, the militia of the United States is split into two classes. The “organized militia” is the National Guard and Naval Militia. The “unorganized militia” covers essentially every other able-bodied male citizen between 17 and 45, plus female citizens in the National Guard.16Cornell Law Institute. 10 U.S. Code § 246 – Militia: Composition and Classes The Vice President, federal judges, active-duty military members, postal employees, and certain other officials are exempt.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC Chapter 12 – The Militia
That statute defines a category of people who may be called into service by the government. It does not authorize self-organized paramilitary units to arm, train, or act independently of government authority. Courts have consistently drawn that line, and the state and federal cases above rest on it.
Landmark Confrontations
The Bundy Standoffs
In 2014, supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy engaged in an armed standoff with Bureau of Land Management officers near Bunkerville, Nevada, over disputed grazing rights. Federal agents withdrew, and charges against the Bundys were later dismissed amid allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
In January 2016, Cliven’s sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy led an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Occupation leader LaVoy Finicum was shot and killed by police during an attempted arrest. In October 2016, a federal jury acquitted Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five co-defendants of conspiracy charges — a verdict that stunned prosecutors. The government revealed during trial that it had deployed more than a dozen confidential informants during the occupation.18The Guardian. Oregon Militia Standoff: Bundy Brothers Found Not Guilty Eleven other defendants pleaded guilty.19U.S. Department of Justice. Jury Delivers Verdicts in Oregon Standoff Trial
The Plot Against Governor Whitmer
In October 2020, the FBI arrested 14 people linked to a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The conspiracy grew out of the “Wolverine Watchmen,” whose members had participated in armed protests at the Michigan state capitol earlier that year against COVID-19 restrictions.20ABC News. Michigan AG Condemns Reversal of Conviction Related to Whitmer Kidnap Plot
The results were mixed. Two defendants were acquitted at the first federal trial in April 2022. At a retrial that August, ringleaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted of conspiracy to kidnap the governor and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Fox received 16 years; Croft received just over 19 and a half, with a terrorism enhancement.21Michigan Advance. Barry Croft Jr. Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years Cooperating defendants Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks received two-and-a-half and four years respectively.22U.S. Department of Justice. First Two Convicted at Trial in Michigan Governor Kidnapping Plot Sentenced
In the parallel state case, militia member Joseph Morrison was convicted of providing material support for a terrorist act and sentenced to four to 20 years. In June 2026 the Michigan Court of Appeals vacated his conviction, ruling that he had been prosecuted under a flawed interpretation of state law and that the jury received faulty instructions. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called the ruling “irredeemably nonsensical” and said she would appeal.23New York Times. Michigan Whitmer Plot Convictions Overturned
January 6 and the Reversals
Members of the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and Three Percenters participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Federal prosecutors charged leaders from both the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy, a rarely used Civil War-era statute carrying up to 20 years.
Stewart Rhodes was convicted in November 2022 and sentenced to 18 years by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who applied a terrorism enhancement and called Rhodes a continuing threat to democracy.24PBS NewsHour. Oath Keepers Founder Sentenced to 18 Years for Seditious Conspiracy Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola were also convicted. Nordean received 18 years.25Seattle Times. Jan. 6 WA Defendant’s Conviction Is Vacated by Appeals Court
Those outcomes were undone after President Trump returned to office in January 2025. On his first day, Trump issued a sweeping clemency order commuting the sentences of more than 1,500 January 6 defendants and pardoning several, including former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio.26NPR. Justice Department Moves to Toss Seditious Conspiracy Convictions Rhodes was released on January 21, 2025 and appeared at the Capitol the next day.27PBS NewsHour. Stewart Rhodes Visits Capitol Hill Judge Mehta initially barred Rhodes from Washington, D.C., then lifted the restriction after the Justice Department argued that the unconditional commutation eliminated both prison time and supervised release.28NPR. Oath Keepers Not Banned from D.C.
In April 2026, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of 12 Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members and dismiss their indictments with prejudice, so the charges could never be refiled. The filing, signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, characterized the prosecutions as “years-long, Biden-era weaponized prosecutions.”29CBS News. DOJ Moves to Dismiss Jan. 6 Convictions By June 2026, an appellate court had vacated the judgments against the four Proud Boys members and remanded the cases for dismissal.25Seattle Times. Jan. 6 WA Defendant’s Conviction Is Vacated by Appeals Court
Left-Wing and Black Nationalist Formations
The movement is overwhelmingly associated with the political right, but armed left-wing and Black nationalist groups have emerged as well, largely in response to the visibility of right-wing paramilitaries. The most prominent include the John Brown Gun Club (and its predecessor Redneck Revolt), the Socialist Rifle Association, the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, and the Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC).30George Washington University Program on Extremism. The Silent Rise of the Left-Wing Militia
A 2025 report by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism found these groups possess tactical equipment, training, and small arms comparable to right-wing counterparts and actively recruit from active-duty military and veteran populations. Their violence was characterized as “primarily isolated, low-frequency, and unsanctioned” by leadership, though the groups “routinely espouse rhetoric praising left-wing, anti-government, and anti-fascist extremist attacks.” The report concluded that left-wing formations are largely “ignored, mislabeled, or misrepresented” by U.S. counter-extremism entities, partly because federal definitions of militia violent extremism are vague enough to let some of these groups avoid the label.30George Washington University Program on Extremism. The Silent Rise of the Left-Wing Militia
The NFAC, a Black nationalist militia that made its public debut in Georgia on July 4, 2020, drew national attention for large armed demonstrations during the Breonna Taylor protests. Its leader, John Fitzgerald Johnson (known as “Grandmaster Jay”), was convicted in May 2022 of assaulting federal officers and brandishing a firearm after pointing an AR-15 at federally deputized officers during a Louisville protest. He was sentenced to 86 months in federal prison.31Complex. Grandmaster Jay Sentenced to Prison
Where the Threat Stands Now
Federal agencies continue to identify anti-government violent extremism as one of the most significant domestic threats. The DHS 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment, published in October 2024, found that domestic violent extremists motivated by anti-government, racial, or gender-related grievances conducted at least four attacks in the United States and were linked to at least seven disrupted plots between September 2023 and July 2024.32DHS. 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment The FBI reported in December 2025 that the domestic terrorism threat continues to grow, driven partly by online self-radicalization of young people through social media and encrypted communications.33FBI. Worldwide Threats to the Homeland
Open FBI domestic terrorism investigations more than doubled between 2020 and 2023, according to congressional testimony by the FBI Director. A Government Accountability Office report noted that open cases grew 357 percent between fiscal years 2013 and 2021, from 1,981 to 9,049.34GAO. Domestic Terrorism: Observations on FBI and DHS Efforts
The SPLC’s 2025 tracking data showed a dip in the raw count of hate and anti-government extremist groups, from 1,371 in 2024 to 1,263 in 2025. The organization attributed the decline in part to a recurring pattern: anti-government groups have a harder time marketing their message when federal policies align with their views. The SPLC also noted a shift in tactics away from street-level activity toward policy-based influence and lobbying — a move, the report said, “from extreme to establishment.”35WWNO. SPLC’s Latest Year in Hate Report