The Virginia National Guard has launched an investigation into the actions of two of its soldiers who are in charge of an anti-government militia group in Campbell County.
“Our own government is the greatest threat to our safety and security,” one of the soldiers under investigation, Staff Sgt. Daniel Abbott, told people at a public recruitment event earlier this year, according to reporting from Military.com.
Military.com, in a report last week, broke the story on the roles that Abbott and another National Guard staff sergeant, Alexandra Griffeth, have at the top of the Campbell County Militia, which was recognized by the Campbell County Board of Supervisors in 2020, at the height of the Second Amendment sanctuary movement in rural Virginia.
“Power is akin to force,” Abbot said, according to video from the recruitment event reviewed by Military.com.
“I would argue there are only two man has direct access to. One of those is violence, (and) the threat of violence.”
The militia group was given a veneer of official sanction with a 6-1 vote from the Campbell County Board of Supervisors in March 2020 that recognized the militia “as a barrier against a tyrannical government.”
The recognition from the county doesn’t carry with it any legal significance in Virginia, which gives the governor, under state law, the sole authority to call up militias into service.
State law also explicitly prohibits all “paramilitary activity” that includes teaching, demonstrating, or assembling one or more people for the purpose of training with firearms, with violations constituting a Class 5 felony.
But that’s only if the local sheriff will enforce the law, and from a look at the Campbell County Militia website, it doesn’t appear that there’s any will there – the website openly lists an upcoming “Field Training Exercise” for the weekend of Sept. 20-22.
The reporting from Military.com has at least gotten the Virginia National Guard involved.
A spokesperson told the website that it is “aware” that two of its soldiers are active in the militia group, that the Guard “will take appropriate action, in accordance with U.S. Army guidelines and directives, once the investigation is complete.”
The statement from the spokesperson also noted that the Guard “welcomes the focus on extremism and discussions about what meets the Army’s definition of extremist behavior.”
Video: Virginia National Guard investigating Campbell County militia
Share
Chris Graham
