THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504220299
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Oklahoma City Bombing
SOURCE: BY DAVID MCHUGH, KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
The Michigan men allegedly involved in the tragic bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building are reportedly part of the self-described patriot movement, a burgeoning populist revolt against gun control, taxes and the federal government.
The movement comprises a loose and often overlapping multitude of groups: tax protesters, militias, militant gun owners and so-called ``sovereign citizens.'' There's also a minority fringe of racist hatemongers like the Aryan Nations church in Idaho.
One common thread: An extreme dislike for the federal government and, often, a highly literal reading of the Constitution.
Most members are peaceful, meet in public, and say they'd only use force in self-defense. But the movement also harbors a more secretive and violent fringe.
``If this country doesn't change, armed conflict is inevitable,'' Michigan Militia commander Norman Olson proclaimed at a recruiting meeting last August. The Michigan Militia, formed a year ago this month, is in the vanguard of the nationwide ``citizens' militia'' movement.
Similar groups have been around for years but appear to have grown in the past several years, part of a general move to the right in national politics and spurred by the Branch Davidians' tragedy and new pushes for federal gun control laws.
James Nichols, whose farmhouse in Decker, Mich., was searched by federal agents Friday and whose brother, Terry, surrendered to the FBI in Kansas in connection with the bombing probe, describes himself as a sovereign, according to friends and neighbors. That's a patriot movement term for a person who does not acknowledge the authority of the federal government, especially of the IRS.
The term ``sovereign citizen'' came out of the radical, anti-tax Posse Comitatus movement of the 1980s, but has since become a general term in the movement.
``They believe that individuals are supreme, and their rights are supreme and that the federal government has no place taking away individual rights,'' said Mary Ann Mauny, a researcher for the Center for Democratic Renewal, a national clearing house for information on right wing, white supremacist and religious right groups.
Those who call themselves sovereign citizens sometimes claim they are state citizens only and do not have to pay taxes or obey other laws.
Frank Kietyka, a neighbor of James Nichols, said Nichols feels that ``if you declare yourself a sovereign citizen, you don't have to pay taxes. I've seen the federal paperwork he fills out.''
Some patriots also decline to get driver's licenses or Social Security numbers, believing that citizens unknowingly contract their rights away to get privileges from the government, according to sociologist James Aho, author of ``The Politics of Righteousness,'' a study of the patriot movement in Idaho.
But the most visible manifestation of the patriot movement are so-called citizens' militias, which claim they are the ``well-regulated militia'' of the Constitution's second amendment. Since last year, the militia movement has swelled to include most of the 50 states and roughly 100,000 members, according to civil rights groups. The Michigan Militia claims over 12,000 - an unverifiable number.
Militia members say they've formed to defend constitutional liberty from the federal government.
The Michigan Militia is one of the most active and visible in the country.
But Michigan Militia leaders say that in addition to their militia, which invites journalists to their training sessions, there are underground militias that operate in secret.
For instance, militia activist Mark Koernke of Dexter, Mich., is said to have his own small group, separate from the others. Koernke is often much more strident than Michigan Militia leaders in videos he makes and circulates nationwide in the movement. Koernke could not be reached for comment Friday and there was no answer at his home.
Eric Maloney, a former member of the Oakland County militia, said James Nichols and Thomas James McVeigh, a suspect in custody in the bombing, had attended Oakland County militia meetings in January and were affiliated with Koernke.
``They belong to the Koernke club,'' said Maloney.
Maloney was part of a militia faction that several months ago accused Koernke of planning to use fertilizer-based explosives to blow up Warsaw-pact military equipment at the National Guard Base in Grayling, Mich. No such attack occurred. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: SOVEREIGN CITIZEN ANTI-GOVERNMENT GROUPS by CNB