By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 55 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends.

The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.

Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he's seen in more than a decade.

"All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report.

It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s — right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups.

Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times.

"Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril."

The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one.

While anti-government sentiment has been on the rise over the last two years, there aren't as many threats and violent acts at this point as there were in the 1990s, according to the report. That movement bore the likes of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people.

But McEntire fears it's only a matter of time.

These militias are concentrated in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and the Deep South, according to Mark Potok, an SPLC staff director who co-wrote the report. Recruiting videos and other outreach on the Internet are on the rise, he said, and researchers from his center found at least 50 new groups in the last few months.

The militia movement of the 1990s gained traction with growing concerns about gun control, environmental laws and anything perceived as liberal government meddling.

The spark for that movement came in 1992 with an FBI standoff with white separatist Randall Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver's wife and son were killed by an FBI sniper. And in 1993, a 52-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, resulted in nearly 80 deaths. These events rallied more people who became convinced that the government would murder its own citizens to promote its liberal agenda.

Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in prison for charges including assaulting police.

Last year, officials warned about an increase in activity from militias in a five-year threat projection by the Homeland Security Department.

"White supremacists and militias are more violent and thus more likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks on the scale of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing," the threat projection said.

A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming.

The FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach, said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes. Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf offenders.

One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

To the Militias

Remember when Obama was still campaigning for the presidency and he said he wanted each state to have its own armed and trained militia? Now we're doing it for him without a cent of government aid money required. Just making an observation.

I like the ones that arn't bats**t crazy

I think he was referring to the black panthers!

Earth For Humans

Militia groups are scary to me.

I have known a few. I like the ones that arnt racist or nuts.

There is no problem with militias as long as they are abiding by the law. The people I know that belong to the local militia are all veterans. More power to them.

WE NEED THE MILITIAS TO KEEP THE SELF RIGHTOUS FROM DISTROYING THIS COUNTRY . THIS GUY THE OP IS QUOTEING IS LOOKING FOR SOME WHITES TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF BE CAREFUL OUT THERE WATCH OUT FOR THE GREYS EVERY TIME YOU SEE SO AHOLE CENTER SAYING THINGS LIKE THIS WATCH OUT . THEY HAVE FOR YEARS PUT WHITE KIDS IN JAIL FOR SITTING AROUND TALKING CRAP . THEY DO SCREW UP LIFES FOR CRAP TALKERS ..
they don,t think your going to do anything anyway . the fire is put out with your beer
ps to all the people who watch the inter net for things to rat out . note that this was not an urging to advocate violence against anyone only to watch out for frame ups from you folks .now have a nice day you all .. oyea even god got mad about what they did at waco tx .and when they shot randy in the back . with iout a warning .. randy was home with his family at the time and never broke a law in this country . mcvee did get even for it though

I find the government much scarier. :O

Depends on how whacked out the particular Militia group is. I find the Christian right pretty scarey too. Some of these groups 'are' christian groups.

Extremists of any kind.

MAIC reports, DHS reports all declaring that there are now domestic terrorists.

As we continue our totalitarian tiptoe, but there may be a day that those folks are the only thing between us and total tyranny.

Personally I think that people themselves have become so wacky, that no group will be able to take hold with out it being very noticable. Not christian wackos, or any other of the many wacko groups out there. I am beginning to think what we really need is mental health reform.

once, when I was taking a anti-terror tactics class, the instructor posed this question,

assume you are out in the woods and you come across a group of young men in military uniforms burning American flags. what should you do?

Every one said "stop em" and "kick their azzes"

then he said "but they are Boy Scouts and they are retiring old flags in the standard procedure"

the point was all in perception. and to not to jump to conclusions

we do a lot of that in America

Great point!

Good point. Brings back memories of Heaven's Gate, Warren Jeffs, and so on... :O