Although individual leaders in the Patriot movement may differ in their theories regarding the origins and nature of the Y2K problem, as well as whether the government is ultimately responsible for it, almost all agree that Americans should fear its "inevitable result": the institution of martial law. Most anti-government extremists agree that potentially, Y2K means a serious threat to an American way of life they imagine existed in the early days of the republic, which has been steadily eroding with the growth of the American state. The watchword for these extremist groups is "preparedness," as they urge their followers to be ready to protect and defend themselves against the impending breakdown in social order.

Origins of the Movement

In the 1970s and 1980s, certain far-right Christian Identity and "Constitutionalist" groups found common ground with apocalyptic survivalists, spawning a number of militant semi-underground associations which seemed to loosely agree that an "America" they imagined was being taken from their midst. After the Midwest farm crisis in the 1980s, the collapse of European Communism, and the launching of the Persian Gulf War, President Bush announced that he intended to help build a "New World Order." His phrasing resonated throughout the Patriot community -- which viewed it as suggesting a dark future in which American sovereignty would be forever lost, and the world would be fully run by secret international associations of "elites," who planned the imminent imposition of some form of tyranny.

Drawing recruits from other pre-existing movements and networks, including gun rights, anti-abortion, survivalist, anti-Communist, libertarian, anti-tax and anti-environmentalist, self-styled Patriot groups began to form organized, armed militias. Relying on computer and fax networks, shortwave radio, AM talk radio, and video and audio tape distribution, the fundamental message was always the same: the U.S. Government is run by a secret network of elites, who are engaged in a vast conspiracy to deny Americans their constitutional rights and create a New World Order via a globalist U.N. police state.                                   return to top

The Movement Adapts to Climate of Suspicion

Following the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, the armed militia movement finally received long-overdue national attention. Many states have enacted anti-paramilitary training statutes, which restrict unauthorized military-style training. The net result of this national focus has been the curtailing of organized paramilitary training exercises that were more common in the early 1990s.

However, the goals, ideals and conspiracy theories which fuel these organizations have not changed in the intervening period. Nor are patriot organizations, as they often call themselves, any less dangerous. In fact, it could be argued that these organizations are more dangerous than their militia forerunners because of changes in their mode of operation, and access to more people through the use of the Internet and other means of communication. They have adopted a strategy of "leaderless resistance," a term coined by Louis Beam, a former Grand Dragon of the KKK, wherein a movement is broken down into small "cells" of "operatives," so as to act with greater stealth and avoid infiltration by the authorities. Although the effectiveness of their strategy is unclear, there has been a massive proliferation in the number of Patriot Web sites, organizations, newsgroups and E-mail lists over the past several years, all distributing information to a potentially wide audience of Internet users. For these organizations, the "Year-2000 Crisis" represents a sort of technological apocalypse, forcing an ultimate battle between the forces of liberty and of tyranny.                               return to top

Paranoia and the Imposition of Martial Law

Virtually all leaders of these organizations agree that the government will deprive citizens of their civil rights if Y2K wreaks significant social and economic havoc. They differ only in what measures they are willing to take in being "prepared."

John Trochman, cofounder of the Militia of Montana (M.O.M.), does not fault the government for creating the problem. He merely fears the results. On the M.O.M. Web site, he refers repeatedly to "secret" reports issued by military branches of the U.S. Government which assess the potential fallout from Y2K on major American cities. He claims that both the Army and the Navy have kept these reports secret in a coordinated effort to make sure that Americans remain unprepared: "Folks, the deception has just been blown away. Branches of the U.S. Government have known, apparently for quite some time, that Y2K was likely to result in major infrastructure failures in highly populated cities. They deliberately withheld this information from the American people."

Trochman goes on to say: "We need to expose corruption in America. . . . I believe when Y2K hits there will be Federal troops on every street corner. I've got documents to prove it." However, Trochman has declined to furnish his sources.

Norm Olson, founder of The Michigan Militia, in a widely disseminated E-mail message dated March 24, 1999, echoed Trochman's position in principle, but advocated harking back to the more organized, militant days of the militia movement:

"It appears that the devastation of Y2K is only now being truthfully considered. That alone ought to give us pause, but still greater in scope and scale is what may follow; for, unless there is a miraculous spiritual and moral change in the attitude of this nation, armed revolution is inevitable. Nothing can stop it. And so we prepare. That, my friends, is what the militia is all about."
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Y2K and Profiteering

Many so-called Patriots have found the Y2K phenomenon to be extremely profitable. For the past several years, "Preparedness Expos," periodic events throughout the country where hundreds of extremists, gun enthusiasts and others interested in survival products and conspiracy theories gather, have been well attended. These events typically include panels and round-table discussions on all manner of conspiracy and survival topics, including the virtues of various types of firearms, how to build underground shelters, purify water and survive underground for a lengthy period of time. All manner of "survival" products and extremist propaganda urging the purchase of such products are offered for sale. Over the past year, ADL research has noted increases in the sheer number of catalogues peddling survival gear, food, etc. Many patriot organizations have attempted to exploit Y2K by selling these products along with their propaganda.

After charging $5 for a lengthy diatribe at a recent "Preparedness Expo" in Sacramento, California, entitled "Leftist Revolution and the Y2K Crisis in America," Gerald "Jack" McLamb, a former Phoenix policeman and founder of Police Against The New World Order, reportedly directed the audience to "head downstairs and stop by booth 225," to purchase survival products distributed by Family Preparedness Now.

Other organizations have attempted to prey on financial insecurity, claiming that in the year 2000, the computer systems at the Federal Reserve and other world financial institutions will malfunction, causing the international monetary system to collapse. The most notable of these organizations is NORFED (National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code), an Evansville, Indiana­based organization that has been busy promoting its Y2K "Liberty Currency" -- which the organization claims on its Web site to be

"America's only silver-backed Currency -- provides you with a legal Warehouse Receipt which is your title of ownership to pure .999 fine silver. Redeemable in pure silver at over 100 Redemption Centers throughout the nation, this currency will not be devalued in any coming financial collapse, such as may follow the year 2000 'Y2K' computer crash."

NORFED offers currency with "intrinsic value," which therefore will not be subject to the devaluation which it claims American currency will suffer as a result of Y2K computer failure.

Perhaps no figure is more emblematic of what Y2K has done for the "Patriot business" than Colonel James "Bo" Gritz. A former Green Beret and 1992 Presidential candidate for the extremist Populist Party, Gritz has trained hundreds of anti-government zealots to fight the "New World Order." He preaches fear about the impending dangers of Y2K, and sells an array of products designed to help "cope" with what is to come. In January 1999, before an overflow crowd of more than 400 at the Northland Opry in North Kansas City, Missouri, Gritz exhorted the crowd: "Y2K could bring chaos to the nation and the world. . . . For the general good, regulations could be imposed that turn you into less than an American."

Gritz offers rigorous "training sessions" run by S.P.I.K.E. (Specially Prepared Individuals For Key Events), where he teaches all manner of survival skills. He has attempted to sell plots of land in a common-law community he called "Almost Heaven," offering investors a pastoral escape from cities, where the greatest effect of the millennial tribulations will be experienced. On his S.P.I.K.E. Web site, he offers a dizzying array of high-priced survival products for the "Time of Noah," ranging from 12 different survival training videos (each of which sells for $75); a "Family Herb Kit" for $99.95, which includes tinctures, powders, poultices, powders, salves and oils; a $199.95 two-person duffel bag; a $36.95 Homeopathic Flu Solution, and a "Basic Year's Supply of Food For One Adult," for $490, as well as lock pick sets, maps, radios and many more survival-related items.                                   return to top

A Troubling Prospect

While some of the leaders of the Patriot movement may be sincere in their belief that apocalyptic disaster will occur with the onset of the year 2000, it is clear that most are taking advantage of the opportunity to exploit the paranoid fears of their followers. Others, most notably gun dealers, have done so as well.

The onset of the millennium and its Y2K problem confront our society with an important and potentially dangerous challenge: how to deal with the prospect of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of extremists in possession of a large supply of firearms and survival gear, suspicious of government and of major social institutions and preparing for the worst, being urged by conspiratorial propaganda toward some "emergency" action against perceived "enemies."