As one law enforcement official states in SPLC's report, "This is the most significant growth we've seen in 10 to 12 years. All it's lacking is a spark. I think it's only a matter of time before you see threats and violence." The term "right-wing militias" is a loaded one and tends, more often than not, to stir people's emotions and conjure images of crazed, brainwashed white men who rail against the corruption and imagined powers of socialism and so-called "big government."
However, to define right-wing militias by individual perception would be to avoid certain truths that put their existence and importance throughout American history in perspective.
Historically, right wing extremism has always been a present force in the US, rising in popularity when less conservative politicians take office and marginalized social groups gain empowerment.
However, the economic climate has as much to do with the political climate when assessing the rise and decline of right wing militias' growth and activity.
As Kyle Dell, associate professor of political science, observes "Americans on both sides of the political spectrum have a suspicion of concentrated political and economic power that lies far away from them ... such localism flows and ebbs throughout American history."
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