BEFORE the bombing in Oklahoma City the “citizens’ militias” that have cropped up throughout the country in recent years had a reputation as harmless nuts with a penchant for paranoia and kooky conspiracy theories. Now they are widely seen as a serious threat to public order and safety.
The transformation from wacky to dangerous was triggered by alleged links between the militia movement and suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing. The evidence of these links so far is fragmentary and uncertain. Early press accounts reported that Timothy McVeigh, the young Army veteran charged in the case, was affiliated with the Michigan Militia. James and Terry Nichols, two brothers who are friends of McVeigh and have been detained as material witnesses, were said to have attended militia meetings.
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