One way you can tell the far right is thinking Kamala Harris is going to win in November: they’re talking about forming militias again.
On the heels of our reporting from earlier this week about a militia group in Campbell County, in the Lynchburg Metro area, coming under scrutiny from the Virginia National Guard, we’re learning that there’s an effort under way to form a new militia group in the City of Lynchburg proper.
ICYMI
This self-styled Lynchburg Constitutional Militia has scheduled a rally on Saturday, Oct. 5, with a note on the group’s website asking attendees to “please bring only sidearms, and limit flags to the national and Virginia state flags,” so, no AR-15s, and no Confederate or Nazi flags, you know, we’re trying to keep this respectable.
The site’s home page invites potential members to “join us on a journey of physical, mental, and spiritual growth as we strive to make our city a better place to work, play, and raise our families in peace, security, and liberty.”
“That’s all it has to be. We’re just your friendly neighborhood militia.”
No, that’s not ominous at all.
This Lynchburg Constitutional Militia outfit claims that its goal is to:
“empower individuals through training in skillsets that make them an asset to themselves, their families, and their communities in times of need – that includes in defense against tyranny, in keeping with the liberties and responsibilities entailed not only in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but also Virginia state code 44-1.”
It’s notable that the new militia group cites among its foundation Virginia state code 44-1, which spells out the “composition of militia” in the Commonwealth:
“The militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth who are citizens of the United States and all other able-bodied persons resident in the Commonwealth who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who are at least 16 years of age and, except as hereinafter provided, not more than 55 years of age. The militia shall be divided into three classes: the National Guard, which includes the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard; the Virginia Defense Force; and the unorganized militia.”
Boilerplate stuff there.
Further down in section 44 of the state code, section 44-8 delineates the governor as “Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the Commonwealth,” and specifies that the governor “shall have power to employ such forces to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and enforce the execution of the laws,” and section 44-80 spells out the “order in which classes of militia (are) called into service”:
“The National Guard, the Virginia Defense Force, and the unorganized militia or any part thereof may be ordered into service by the Governor in such order as he determines.”
What we have here is, guys can dress up in military garb and run around in the woods together to the degree that all their MAGA hearts desire, but they can’t:
“assume or exercise the functions, powers, duties, and privileges incident to the office of sheriff, police officer, marshal, or other peace officer, or any local, city, county, state, or federal law-enforcement officer.” (18.2-174),
And they’d better not:
“point, hold or brandish any firearm or any air or gas operated weapon” or similar-looking object, “whether capable of being fired or not,” in a way that would “reasonably induce fear in the mind of another” “while assembled with one or more persons for the purpose of and with the intent to intimidate any person or group of persons.” (18.2-282)
A first violation of either of those codes is a Class 6 misdemeanor.
Second and other subsequent violations of 18.2-274 are a Class 6 felony.
One other state code this new group might want to pay attention to is section 18.2-433.2, which is titled “Paramilitary activity prohibited; penalty.”
“A person is guilty of unlawful paramilitary activity, punishable as a Class 5 felony, if he:
“1. Teaches or demonstrates to any other person the use, application, or making of any firearm, explosive or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, knowing or having reason to know or intending that such training will be employed for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder;
“2. Assembles with one or more persons for the purpose of training with, practicing with, or being instructed in the use of any firearm, explosive or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, intending to employ such training for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder; or
“3. Violates subsection A of § 18.2-282 while assembled with one or more persons for the purpose of and with the intent to intimidate any person or group of persons.”
This 18.2-433.2 code section might come into play with two of the items that the new militia group lists under “What We Offer” on its home page.
Under “Firearms Handling,” the group offers “instruction in everything from basic pistol to advanced night-fighting and everything in between.”
“Our trainers stay on top of the latest methods and techniques in modern gunfighting, and are adept at communicating these concepts with everyone from beginners to those with a little more experience.”
And then, under “Team Tactics”:
“Learn how to be an asset (rather than a liability) in a dynamic team environment. We cover everything from advanced field maneuvers to CQB, and show you how to safely and effectively operate as a unit.”
The training sure sounds like it could be getting close to the line of paramilitary training, is what I’m getting at there.
One other state code section that would seem to be of note here is section 44-120:
“It shall be unlawful for any person, not an officer, warrant officer or enlisted person in the armed forces of the United States, to wear the duly prescribed uniform thereof, or any distinctive part of such uniform, or a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the duly prescribed uniform of the armed forces of the United States.”
Summing things up, these groups can refer to themselves as a “militia,” but they have no legal status, aside from what the governor might bestow on them – no, a Board of Supervisors, City Council or elected sheriff doesn’t have that power, nor does a private-property owner.
If they’re going to go out in public, they’d better be careful not to try to look too official, they’d be well-advised not to point their guns at anybody.
And if anybody gets injured when they’re all out running around in the woods playing civil war, that state-code section on paramilitary training might not be their friend, so, my advice to them would be, be careful out there.
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Chris Graham
