Despite attempt at spin Michigan Militia is a hate group

You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about the raid on a militia group called Hutaree in a rural township outside of Adrian in Lenawee County.

The ultra-right wing religious group planned to kill police officers, “who they view as the enemy of their militia-style group,” according to a story in the Adrian Daily Telegram. When I heard the news I was not at all surprised. I worked as a reporter in Lenawee County for about three years in the mid-1990s. I can tell you it was ground zero for anti-government militia groups, and there was a government conspiracy behind every single corner.

I visited the church of alleged Adrian minister Rick Strawcutter, and I’m not at all surprised that there is a religious hate group in the Adrian area. What has been most interesting has been the reaction of the Michigan Militia on the TV news programs. They may not be involved in this particular plot, but make no mistake about it: the Michigan Militia is an anti-government hate group with the same general mission as the group that just got busted.

The Militia has tried to be a mainstream group in the past, but they are really trying harder now after the Oklahoma City bombing sent them scurrying underground. In fact, my first face-to-face meeting with them came in an attempt to mainstream themselves.

I covered a meeting on Gulf War Syndrome for the Telegram, and it turned out to be another militia government conspiracy, according to them. It was disgusting how they used real veterans groups that actually care about vets to push their agenda and try to mainstream their conspiracy theories.

The latest attempt at trying to mainstream a hate group occurred earlier this month. Bridgewater Township Supervisor Jolea Mull sought help from militia members this year to search for missing township residents. What was this woman thinking?

Once a hate group always a hate group, and no attempt to mainstream them will change that. Why didn’t Ms. Mull ask the Civil Air Patrol, the Boy Scouts or the National Guard,the real militia, for help in searching for a missing person. They are trained to do that. I have been a member of two of those groups, and they are well equipped to look for a missing person.

The Civil Air Patrol is the all-volunteer, official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force with both senior members and cadets from age 12-21, and CAP flies 95 percent of the nation’s search and rescue missions. They are also very familiar with ground searches,and they have chaptes all over, including a very good aquadron in Livingston County.