Hutaree: Not on the fringe of militias

Mark Potok, the executive director of the Southern Poverty law Center, which tracks extremist groups, told TPMmuckraker that the Hutaree fit comfortably within the broader militia movement.

“The Hutaree were apparently ensconced right smack in the middle of the militia movement,” said Potok.

Potok explained that the more secular militia groups foresee an impending catastrophe in the form of the federal government confiscating weapons, imposing martial law, and herding those who resist into concentration camps. Ultimately, he said, they fear that the U.S. will be subsumed into a socialistic “One World Order,” under supra-national bodies like the U.N. or the EU.

“The only difference with the Hutarees is that they put this millenial spin on it,” Potok said. In their version, the coming catastrophe involves the appearance of the Anti-Christ, but groups like the U.N. and E.U. are also vilified — as we’ve noted. “It’s very much the same idea.”

Operationally, the Hutaree appears to have at least some ties to the broader movement. Potok said that the group’s Facebook page, now removed, listed a large number of well-known militia groups as friends. And he noted that the federal indictment released yesterday referred to a recent aborted effort by Hutaree members to attend a militia summit in Kentucky.