New York, NY, April 26...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said today that it was not surprised to learn that individuals linked to a militia group in Georgia had explosive material that could be used for making bombs and commended law enforcement for thwarting what could have resulted in a dangerous and deadly situation.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We were not surprised to learn that individuals connected to an anti-government militia group were in possession of explosives that could have resulted in a dangerous and deadly situation. Just one week after the first anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, we again are confronted by those who would wreak havoc on our democratic way of life.

Militia groups have bought into conspiratorial theories and some have links to known racist and anti-Semitic extremists. Their paranoid and obsessive views coupled with the stockpiling of weapons and explosives make them armed and dangerous.

Law enforcement is to be commended for taking action against this group. Just two days after President Clinton signed into law the Omnibus Antiterrorism Bill, Americans can be assured that the government is taking the militia threat seriously.

ADL has been in the forefront of monitoring the militia movement for over two years, and first alerted the American people to the threat with its report Armed and Dangerous: Militias Take Aim at the Federal Government in October 1994. A second ADL report Beyond the Bombing: The Militia Menace Grows, detailed the growth of the militia movement in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.