Michigan Militia
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The Michigan Militia was a loosely organized paramilitary organization founded by Norman Olson of Alanson, Michigan. The organization formed around 1994 in response to perceived encroachments by the Federal Government on the rights of citizens.
The two events that contributed to the formation and growth of the Michigan Militia were the Federal standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and the Federal standoff with the Weaver family in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Many believed that both of these events, which involved agents of the FBI and BATF, were alarming shows of force by the Federal Government against citizens who had not committed any federal crimes, but were targeted for simply having anti-government views.
The Michigan Militia was formally organized in the name Michigan Militia Corps, with the mascot of the wolverine, Michigan's state animal. The MMC was initially divided into four divisions, each having a regional name. The division names were:
- Superior Michigan Regional Militia (named for Lake Superior)
- Northern Michigan Regional Militia
- Central Michigan Regional Militia
- Southern Michigan Regional Militia
Each brigade had a commander, generally of the rank of lieutenant colonel, that was elected by the membership of that brigade. Each division was headed by a division commander with the rank of colonel, who was elected by the brigade commanders. The Michigan Militia Corps was headed by a commanding officer with the rank of brigadier general, who was elected at-large by all Michigan Militia Corps members on an annual basis.
Norman Olson retained the position of Commander of the MMC until after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, where he published a press release blaming the Japanese for the bombing, supposedly in retaliation for a clandestine US-sponsored gas attack in the Tokyo subway system. (See: Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.) This press release was seen as an embarrassment by the MMC membership and Lynn Van Huizen of Nunica, Michigan was elected state commander.
The Michigan Militia Corps saw a decline in membership after the Oklahoma City bombing because of the popular belief that militias had involvement in the bombing, though no militia members were implicated in the event. The Michigan Militia Corps eventually fell into infighting for the position of state commander and essentially became defunct as a statewide organization after 2000.
At its peak the Michigan Militia Corps claimed membership of 10,000. Major areas of focus for the Michigan Militia were paramilitary training, emergency response, and promotion of ideologies critical of the Federal Government and the United Nations.
External links
- http://www.michiganmilitia.com
- Congressional Record (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r104:1:./temp/~r104qICnHI:e12824:) - Testimony of Norman Olson at US Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism hearing - May 25, 1995.