The Missouri Citizens Militia (MCM) is a

private militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Foundation

It was founded in 2010 by Aaron Penberthy. In 2017 the general officer Jeremy Decker denied they were an anti-government militia. The Missouri Citizens Militia is distinct from the state's

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

in that it is not associated with or funded by the state or federal governments.

Activities

The Missouri Citizens Militia has been involved in several regionally located public activities (usually training in Missouri Ozark Mountains), including: *responding to natural disasters *holding clothing, food and toy drives to help victims of natural disasters. *blocking members of the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small American, unaffiliated Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. Labeled a hate group, WBC is known for engaging in homophobic and anti-American pickets, as ...

when they have staged protests within Missouri. In 2014, members of the MCM, including its founder, Aaron Penberthy, traveled to the site of the

Bundy standoff The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directin ...

to join other armed protesters in their standoff against the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

. In July 2015, the militia was involved in an

Oath Keepers Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the US Constitution. ...

mission, which involved standing guard outside an armed forces career center following the

2015 Chattanooga shootings On July 16, 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on two Military base, military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He first committed a drive-by shooting at a Military recruitment, recruiting center, then traveled to a United State ...

which killed four

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and one

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

. In May 2017, the Oregon County Sheriff requested flood relief assistance from the militia. The militia deployed for two weeks in

Thomasville, Missouri Thomasville is a census-designated place in northern Oregon County, Missouri, United States. It is located nine miles northwest of Alton on Route 99. Demographics History Thomasville was platted in 1846. The community was named for George Tho ...

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Missouri Citizens Militia Official Website
Organizations based in Missouri Organizations established in 2010 Survivalism in the United States Right-wing militia organizations in the United States Paramilitary organizations based in the United States 2010 establishments in Missouri