Cults and New Religious Movements Cults and New Religious Movements Case Study #4: Montana Freemen

The Potential For Violence The standoff in Garfield County, Montana –Lasted between March 25 - June 13, 1996

Justice Township

Beliefs of the Group Based on “Christian Identity” –Believe that White Anglo-Saxons are the true Israelites –America is the “promised land” referred to in the Bible –Jews and other people of color are subhuman and the enemy –A race war will occur The following texts are considered very important: –The Bible, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the pre-Civil War American Constitution, and other chosen legal documents View the U.S. Govt. as corrupt, oppressive, and Satanic Feel they are living in the period of tribulation (p. 159)

Ultimate concern: To “establish an association of sovereign state republics free from federal authority, in which Yahweh’s laws, given in the Old testament, would be enforced” (p. 159). Felt that a centralized federal government was illegitimate –Local government is legitimate They are nativist millennialists (p. 159) –ZOG (p. 173)

Persecution Foreclosures Ruby Ridge and Waco Neighbors

The Response Taught others common law Sent common law documents to enemies Threatened to uphold their version of law Retreated to Justus Township (Clark family farm)

The Standoff FBI took a completely different approach than they had at Waco –No armed confrontation –No siege –No armed perimeter –Allowed direct communication with the press –Allowed visitors –FBI worked closely with scholarly experts FBI allowed the Freemen to “save face” –They continued the fight, but changed the location… to the courts Ended when the Clark family “decided that their commitment to each other’s well-being was greater than their commitment to their land” and when they saw that some of their demands were met (p. 171)

In short, the Freemen were never made to feel that it was utterly impossible to achieve their ultimate concern