Get your tin-foil hat on, watch out for black helicopters, and beware of aliens we are about to enter conspiracy theory territory. The only problem is the conspiracy theories may start becoming conspiracy realities.A report issued on February 20th, 2009, titled "The Modern Militia Movement," which was created for the Missouri Highway Patrol, first popped up on my radar screen while reading Barbara Sowell's article over at Faultline USA.
The report was compiled and generated on behalf of the state troopers by an organization known as the Missouri Information Analysis Center. Here is their mission statement.
What is MIAC and why it is needed?
Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) provides a public safety partnership consisting of local, state and federal agencies, as well as the public sector and private entities that will collect, evaluate, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence to the agencies tasked with Homeland Security responsibilities in a timely, effective, and secure manner.
MIAC is the mechanism to collect incident reports of suspicious activities to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations within the Missouri area. MIAC will also function as a vehicle for two-way communication between federal, state and local law enforcement community within our region.
The "report," which can be viewed online, (We cannot vouch for its authenticity. Also, it is available online via Scribd.) lumps various groups such as people identifying with with Christian ideology, sovereign citizens, tax resistors, and anti-illegal immigration supporters in with white supremacists and violent anti-abortionists.
There is also a mention on page 7 that members of militias or extremist organizations often associate with third parties and their candidates such as Bob Barr (Libertarian), Ron Paul (Republican), and Chuck Baldwin (Constitutionalist).
One of the reasons I am approaching the thumbnails of this report posted online with caution is that the source was notorious conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones of Infowars infamy. Supposedly a rouge Missouri state patrolman obtained a copy of the original report and mailed it to Jones.
Currently we could not find any government documentation substantiating the language and conclusions of the MIAC report. However, what we do know is that the report does exist and some of the wording that has been criticized can be confirmed by an AP article.
From Kansas City.com,
Kansas City.com-A new document meant to help Missouri law enforcement agencies identify militia members or domestic terrorists has drawn criticism for some of the warning signs mentioned.
The Feb. 20 report called "The Modern Militia Movement" mentions such red flags as political bumper stickers for third-party candidates, such as U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who ran for president last year; talk of conspiracy theories, such as the plan for a superhighway linking Canada to Mexico; and possession of subversive literature.
According to officials from Missouri the interpretation of the report is being misrepresented.
From the Columbia Daily Tribune,
Columbia Daily Tribune-Lt John Holz of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said, “It’s giving the makeup of militia members and their political beliefs,” “It’s not saying that everybody who supports these candidates is involved in a militia. It’s not even saying that all militias are bad.”
If the online version of the MIAC report has not been altered and the language used is correct, then there is no denying that Missouri law enforcement is using wording that is ambiguous in nature. And their description of what a militia member might look like needs to be streamlined.
I am sure the average everyday American attending one of the Tea Parties' across the nation might agree that their classification as a domestic terrorist or militia member might be inherently wrong.
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