Oregon situation gives left fodder against government critics

The continuing standoff in Oregon is giving leftist scaremongers and mainstream media the opportunity to spin reports about a “renewed expansion” of “anti-government militia groups” throughout the United States.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has a long history of unfairly labeling right-of-center groups as “hate organizations,” released its annual tally of U.S. militia groups this month with a heavy focus on the events unfolding in Oregon.

According to the SPLC report, there are at least 276 militia groups active in the United States. The organization claims the number represents a 37 percent rise over the 202 such groups in 2014.

Hinting that the federal government should make an example of the militia members involved in the current standoff, SPLC suggests that new militia groups are forming as a direct result of their actions.

“We believe these armed extremists have been emboldened by what they saw as a clear victory at the Cliven Bundy ranch and the fact that no one was held accountable for taking up arms against agents of the federal government,” said SPLC’s Heidi Beirich.

She continued: “When the federal government was stopped from enforcing the law at gunpoint, it energized the entire movement. The fact is, Bundy is still a free man and has not paid the money he owes to the federal government — and the militiamen who aimed rifles at federal agents have gotten away with it.”

According to SPLC, Americans who feel the ranchers are right to stand up to federal power are likely to “adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines and subscribe to groundless conspiracy theories about the federal government.”

While the organization’s website was covered in stories about the threat of “right wing extremism” Thursday, it lacked any mention of the potential threat of Islamic extremist groups gaining traction in the United States.

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