Posse Comitatus (organization)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Posse Comitatus (Latin for "strength for the country") is a loosely organized, right-wing extremist , social American movement. The movement, which was founded in the 1960s, advocates a conspiracy-theoretical, anti-government, anti-Semitic ideology that also includes aspects of Christianity and white supremacy.

Many members adhere to the idea of survivalism . The posse was responsible for establishing militias in the 1990s.

Historical background

The PC has developed strong ties to the anti-Semitic and the idea of white supremacy pendant Christian Identity . They consider themselves Israelites chosen by the God Yahweh. It is also believed that the Jews would want to destroy civilization on behalf of Satan with the help of the Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Service . In 1985 members of the Posse Comitatus declared: "Our nation is now completely under the control of the International Invisible government of the World Jewry." ("Our nation is now completely under the control of the international invisible government of world Jewry").

Posse locations were founded in 1969 in Portland , Oregon by Henry Lamont Beach. Lamont was previously a member of the Silver Shirts - a party based on the NSDAP that was formed after Hitler came to power. "William Potter Gale was seen as one of the founders.

The PC believes that there is no higher state authority than that of the county, and therefore no higher state authority than the county sheriff . Should the sheriff not act in the interests of the population:

... he shall be removed by the Posse to the most populated intersection of streets in the township and at high noon be hung by the neck, the body remaining until sundown as an example to those who would subvert the law. (... he is to be removed from the posse and hung at the busiest intersection of streets in the parish and at noon and his body is to be left hanging until sunset, as an example for those who want to undermine the law)

Federal tax

Members of the Posse Comitatus often refuse to pay taxes, obtain driver's licenses or otherwise cooperate with government agencies. They only believe in the gold standard provided by the US Constitution.

Criminal activity

On February 13, 1983, ex-Posse member Gordon Kahl shot and killed two US marshals who were trying to arrest him in North Dakota.

On June 3, 1983, another shooting occurred in which Kahl and the Sheriff Gene Matthews of Lawrence County , Arkansas were killed. Other members of the farce were prosecuted for a variety of crimes, ranging from tax evasion to threats to state officials.

Sovereign citizens

The theories of the Posse Comitatus were taken up by the Sovereign Citizen Movement. This movement believes that a U.S. citizen is subject only to the constitution, and not to federal or state laws (which includes most tax laws). Some of these members felt that African-Americans did not enjoy the same civil rights as whites because they did not become citizens until the 14th Amendment .

The Federal Bureau of Investigation classifies the Sovereign Citizens ("sovereign citizen extremists") as a domestic terrorist group . In 2010 the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) estimated that around 100,000 Americans were "hard-core sovereign believers" with a further 200,000 supporters. The 200,000 are only supposed to be followers.

Alpine County, California

In the late 1970s, the Posse Comitatus attempted to legally take control of Alpine County . Members settled in the city and tried to elect members to the city council.

Alpine County is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Stockton , California. The population in 2010 was 1,175 people. The posse wanted to establish itself through elections in Alpine County and legally take power in the city. The group put up a candidate for the office of sheriff and tried to win the election with invented people. For this purpose, people who did not even exist were registered as citizens with fraudulent intent. Six people were prosecuted for election fraud and the current sheriff was re-elected.

Tigerton, Wisconsin

The posse was active and present in Tigerton , Wisconsin. This ended in the early 1980s when a wave of arrests pulled the posse's senior management out of circulation.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Solodow, Joseph Latin Alive: The Survival of Latin in English and the Romance Languages , Cambridge University Press, 2010 p. 160 "out of the phrase posse comitatus" the force of the county "arose our present use of posse for a group of men whom the sheriff calls upon in a crisis. "
  2. ↑ a b c Knight, Peter (Ed.): Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia 2003, ISBN 9781576078129 , p. 591.
  3. ^ Peter Knight: Conspiracy theories in American history: an encyclopedia, Volume 1 . ABL-CIO, 2003, ISBN 978-1-57607-812-9 , p. 758.
  4. ↑ Christian Posse Comitatus Newsletter, n. D. quoted in Kenneth S. Stern , A Force upon the Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996) p. 50.
  5. ↑ Kathy Marks: Faces of right wing extremism . Branden Publishing Company, 1996, ISBN 978-0-8283-2016-0 , p. 146.
  6. ↑ James Corcoran: Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Posse Comitatus: Murder in the Heartland 1990, ISBN 0-670-81561-6 , p. 29.
  7. ^ The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right by Daniel Levitas (Thomas Dunn Books, 2002; ISBN 0-312-29105-1 ).
  8. ↑ Stephen Atkins: Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism In Modern American History . ABC-CLIO, Sep 13, 2011, p. 197.
  9. ^ Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe Dreams by Brent L. Smith ( SUNY Press, 1995; ISBN 0-7914-1759-X ), pages 57-58 .
  10. ^ "Common Law and Uncommon Courts: An Overview of the Common Law Court Movement" ( Memento of October 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Mark Pitcavage , Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website, July 25, 1997.
  11. ↑ What is a Sovereign Citizen? , Message to Students ( Memento from January 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
  12. ↑ Are sovereign citizens racist? , Message to Students ( Memento from January 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
  13. ↑ What is a 'Sovereign Citizen'? ( March 5, 2009 memento on the Internet Archive ), Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2008.
  14. ^ Sovereign Citizens A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement . In: Domestic Terrorism . Federal Bureau of Investigation. September 11, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  15. ↑ MacNab, JJ "Sovereign 'Citizen Kane" . Intelligence Report . Issue 139. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2010.
  16. ^ Daniel Levitas: The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right . Macmillan ,, ISBN 9781429941808 , p. 164 (Retrieved June 29, 2014).
  17. ^ Dayton Duncan: Miles from Nowhere: Tales from America's Contemporary Frontier . University of Nebraska Press ,, ISBN 0803266278 , p. 259 (Retrieved June 29, 2014).
  18. ↑ With Leaders in Jail, Posse Comitatus' Fate Is Uncertain . September 23, 1990.
  19. ↑ POSSE COMITATUS MANUAL URGED TERRORISM, SHERIFF SAYS . September 12, 1985.