Critically Speaking

Dr. Amy Cooter: Militias in the United States Today

Feb 4, 2025

25:51

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Amy Cooter discuss the complexities and variations within militia groups in the United States, citing examples of constitutional militias, millenarian militias, and border militias noting their varying beliefs and tendencies. Dr. Cooter also highlights how the role of nostalgia and protecting the Second Amendment rights are integral in militias’ self-perception. They discuss the difficulty in tracking militia activity, the racial undertones in these militia groups, as well as the legality and legal loopholes that many of these groups fall within.

Key Takeaways:

Not all militias are the same. They do not have the same goals, structure, meetings, life experiences, or beliefs. Border militias tend to be more concerned about migration, whereas others, who live away from the Southern border of the US, are less concerned about immigration.
The Second Amendment and nostalgia are two major things that tie militia groups together with a point of commonality.
A lot of militia members aren't very religious themselves, but we have to pay attention to the way that the mythologized story of our founding and who we are as a nation connects to certain Christian mythology in ways that are getting pulled forward with different iterations of what we’re calling White Christian Nationalism.

"Most militias really see their limits at their community or even their county boundary. They tend to have only very local members to set their own agenda, even if they do coordinate, sometimes for training or other activities, with other geographically near militias." — Dr. Amy Cooter

Episode Reference: