Understanding U.S. Militias: Myths and Realities

Amy Cooter has been studying US militias since 2008 when, as a graduate student in Michigan, she attended a public meeting of a group that was thought to be a cover for an underground neo-Nazi movement.

As it turned out, that assumption was wrong. 

It was then that Amy realized this militia movement she encountered was worthy of study all on its own. And at the time, most academics weren't studying it, partly because they believed all these guys were the same. They're not.

Today Amy is one of the foremost experts on these groups. In this episode, she tells us the things we’re still getting wrong about the US militia movement. And explains how, by ignoring the movement’s complexities, we might have missed our window for change.

GUEST: Dr. Amy Cooter, Director of Research, Academic Development, and Innovation (RADI), Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

"As Trump Touts Plans for Immigrant Roundup, Militias Are Standing Back, but Standing By," Amy Cooter, The Conversation.

Nostalgia, Nationalism, and the US Militia Movement, Amy Cooter, Routledge.

"The Sheriffs, Hardliners, and Militias Preparing for Trump’s Return," Tyler Hicks, Inkstick Media.