**LEAD STORY**
If you thought that militia, hate groups and extremist organizations were only a product of the South, Southwest and Northwest portions of the United States ... you were wrong. Last week, Brian Levin, the associate director of Klanwatch, which is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that in the past few years six militia groups have sprung up in Massachusetts and eight have appeared in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of 21 states in which regular paramilitary exercises are being conducted. There are also at least 12 other militia organizations operating in the rest of New England.
Levin said that the militia movement in the U.S. is "growing." He said, "The vast majority of the movement is benign. The groups just want a rhetorical sounding board for their theories. But that ten percent underbelly are plotting against the government and carrying out illegal paramilitary training."
The Southern Poverty Law Center acts as a clearinghouse for information on military militias, hate groups and extremist organizations. They are recognized as being experts in this field. Levin said that support for militias and armed citizens' groups is now coming from other groups such as Second Amendment gun "fanatics," tax protesters and even radical anti-abortion activists. In practice, any number of these groups that oppose the government and the current administration seem drawn to ally themselves in preparing for potential violent actions.
It appears that in the 1990s the militia and all other types of movements have become united in their anti-government rhetoric. Three developments brought this into being. They were: the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992, the Waco, Texas, incident in 1993 and the passage of the Brady Bill in 1993. And, many are now waiting and watching for the outcome in Jordan, Montana; perhaps the next rallying point for anti-government forces.
Levin said, "It's a rallying point for these groups." He said that the movements anti-government rhetoric are really only a disguise for racism and bigotry. "I call this 'stealth bigotry.' You can't use the n-word, but if you talk about the government, people will listen to you," Levin added.
According to Levin, the right-wing extremists have gained strength from an increasingly dissatisfied mainstream, whose confidence in government, law enforcement and the court system has been virtually lost. He said, "The mainstream is getting carried across this bridge to extremism. You can establish bridges if you keep the terms coded."
As reported in this publication previously, many of these groups have now shifted themselves into small cells that are harder to locate, identify, or to prosecute. Levin said that the extremist groups have gained access to the mass media and that this is giving them an opportunity to speak to and recruit young people. And, current trends do not bode well for the future; teenagers are reportedly currently responsible for 50 percent of all hate crimes against minorities and homosexuals.
(c) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996, All Rights Reserved.
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