Any group of people wandering around with guns and threatening people is not a militia, so please MSM stop using the word in this context, it gives a false aura of respectability.
Today's word: Militia.
Militia
: a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency
: a body of citizens organized for military service
: the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service
No matter how much they want to believe that they indeed form a militia, they do not.
These groups of armed thugs wandering around have not been organized by any local, state, or federal part of the government. Normally they would be referred to as armed gangs, indeed one of their central tenets is that the government is out to get them.
Words matter and deeming them to be militia gives the idea that they have some legal standing, and the NRA has been playing this up with respect to the second amendment for a long time.
Conservative legislators and pundits can act all surprised when the racism and violent intent comes to the fore, but it has long been known where their roots lie.
I wonder if these gangs were made up of anyone but right wing white people would the word militia ever be used? If you like me scoff at that thought, then we know the answer to that one.
Call them what they are, armed gangs.