Cian and Ali begin their deep dive into the American militia (or Patriot) movement. There are some odd beliefs very particular to America at play here, so we crack a couple of cans and get stuck into the founding of the country and the constitution to find out exactly why grown men like to LARP at being military folks out in the wild woods of backwoods America.

In this episode, we focus on the siege of Ruby Ridge in Idaho, 1992 – an inciting incident that helped to kickstart the modern militia movement. It’s a fascinating and tragic story of a family hiding out in a cabin atop a mountain that became a target for increasingly more militarised police and federal forces. To find out just how this insane situation came to be, why the full force of the US government came down on the Weavers, and how citizens across the country changed their view of their own government as a result of this disastrous siege, take a listen to AMERICAN MILITIA 1: RUBY RIDGE.

Along the way we meet such radical groups as the Aryan Nations and the Three Percenters, we discuss far-right white supremacist bible The Turner Diaries and murderous racists The Order, and amidst this grim tableau we even manage to eke a few laughs out of the life of irascible arch-conservative, anti-government warrior and all-round blowhard Colonel Bo ‘Rambo’ Gritz. And stick around for a made-to-order punk song about the militia movement!

The Scuts

https://www.facebook.com/DutchCourage2013

American Experience: Ruby Ridge (PBS)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ruby-ridge-part-one-suspicion/

Bo Gritz’ Spike Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ9qpjA5AyU

Erase And Forget: Documentary about Bo Gritz

http://eraseandforget.com/