Research & Analysis

A large and loosely-organized anti-government extremist group started by attorney E. Stewart Rhodes. The Oath Keepers emerged as part of a resurgence of the militia movement in 2009. They are not a paramilitary group but see their purpose in trying to spread the anti-government ideology of the militia movement among, and to seek recruits from, former and active duty military personnel, law enforcement officers and first responders. However, such a background is not required for membership.

A wing of the militia movement that arose as part of a resurgence of the militia movement in 2009. The term “Three Percenter” refers to the erroneous belief that only 3% of colonists fought against the British during the Revolutionary War—but achieved liberty for everybody. Three Percenters view themselves as modern day versions of those revolutionaries, fighting against a tyrannical U.S. government rather than the British. With anyone able to declare themselves a Three…

Skousenism is a term used to describe the political philosophy of ultraconservative political theorist W. Cleon Skousen (1913-2006). Skousen advocated a philosophy centered on advocacy for extremely limited federal government, anti-Communism, conspiracy theories and Mormon theology. Skousenites occasionally win public office in western states (controversial 1980s Arizona governor Evan Meacham was a Skousenite, for example) but exist primarily on the political fringes; at their most extreme,…

The anti-public lands movement is a conservative political movement based primarily in the western United States that opposes federal stewardship of publicly-owned lands and seeks for public land to be turned over to private ownership to be exploited for ranching, mining, logging and other pursuits. The movement has been known by many names since the 1970s, including the Sagebrush Rebellion, the Wise Use movement, and the country rule movement. The more moderate wing of the anti-public lands…

An Afro-centric offshoot of the sovereign citizen movement that emerged in the mid-1990s primarily as a result of people merging sovereign beliefs with beliefs from a longstanding religious sect, the Moorish Science Temple. Moorish sovereign citizens often claim to have special rights because of their “Moorish” status or because they are “indigenous inhabitants” of North America. In recent years, the Moorish movement has grown considerably, making the African-American…

A false interpretation of a matter that explains its subject as the result of a conspiratorial undertaking. For example, a conspiracy theorist might claim that a nation is secretly under the control of some sort of cabal rather than by its actual government. Conspiracy theories often emerge from a desire to seek larger, more complex answers to incidents that are actually relatively straightforward in nature. They can also be created by people seeking to delegitimize unwelcome events. For…

A term used to refer to a right-wing conspiracy theory that became popular among anti-government extremists from the 1990s onwards. “New World Order” conspiracists believe that a tyrannical, socialist “one-world” conspiracy has already taken over most of the planet and schemes to eliminate the last bastion of freedom, the United States, with the help of collaborators within the government. Through repressive measures, as well as manufactured crises such as terrorist…

An anti-government extremist movement that emerged in the mid-1990s as a reaction to a number of unpopular laws, particularly gun control laws, and to deadly standoffs involving federal law enforcement agencies. The core belief of the militia movement is that the federal government is collaborating with an evil conspiracy known as the “New World Order” to strip Americans of their rights and freedoms, starting with their right to keep and bear arms, after which they will be absorbed…

A collective term used to describe a set of related extremist movements and groups in the United States whose ideologies center on anti-government conspiracy theories. The most important segments of the “Patriot” movement include the militia movement, the sovereign citizen movement and the tax protest movement. Though each submovement has its own beliefs and concerns, they share a conviction that part or all of the government has been infiltrated and subverted by a malignant…

Although the term “anti-government extremism” can be used generically to refer to any fringe movement with an antipathy towards the government, or even the idea of government itself, in the United States the term is usually used to describe a specific set of right-wing extremist movements and groups that share a conviction that part or all of the U.S. government has been taken over by a conspiracy and is therefore not legitimate. Collectively, these movements and groups are often…

An organization whose goals and activities are primarily or substantially based on a shared antipathy towards people of one or more other different races, religions, ethnicities/nationalities/national origins, genders, and/or sexual identities. The mere presence of bigoted members in a group or organization is typically not enough to qualify it as a hate group; the group itself must have some hate-based orientation/purpose.

A concept used to describe religious, social or political belief systems that exist substantially outside of belief systems more broadly accepted in society (i.e., “mainstream” beliefs). Extreme ideologies often seek radical changes in the nature of government, religion or society. Extremism can also be used to refer to the radical wings of broader movements, such as the anti-abortion movement or the environmental movement. Not every extremist movement is “bad”&mdash…