Description
Six months before the Oklahoma City bombing, Morris Dees warned the U.S. Attorney General that the fast-growing militia movement posed serious threats. He saw the possibility of imminent danger that few understood. Dees and his associates had tracked far-right paramilitary groups and their racist leaders since the early 1980s, sometimes using daring undercover operations. In retaliation, his law office was burned and attempts made on his life.Dees traces Oklahoma City bombing sus pect Timothy McVeigh to the shadowy fringes of the militia movement. He makes a compelling case that the bombing-even the type of bomb used and the moment it exploded-were strongly influenced by key leaders in this movement.
In this revealing account, Dees names names and places, tying together for the first time the events, the players, and the history that gave life to the militia armies now operating across the country. He explains how hard-core racists and neo-Nazi leaders used the deaths of Randy Weaver's wife and son at Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian tragedy at Waco to convince thousands that our government was preparing for a war against its own citizens.
These militias do not operate in a vacuum but are close cousins to the religious right and ultraconservative politicians. They are fueled by the ban on assault weapons, strident radio talk show hosts, and those who preach hatred of the government. Dees suggests ways to combat the militias and offers ideas on how to recapture the political debate.
