New York Light Foot Militia
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The New York Light Foot Militia (NYLFM) is a
militia movement The American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized milit ...
organization founded by George Curbelo in 2015 in the U.S. state of New York.


Activities

The group's leader, George Curbelo, lives in
Delaware County, New York Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, ...
, in the
Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
. He has said he is not a military veteran but operates a
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
-based
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
school. In 2017, he said his group numbered about 250 members who train monthly at firearms, reconnaissance, and navigation. Curbeo says the group does not "support white supremacy" and says that the group includes non-whites and non-Christians; Curbeo identifies as a “white Hispanic” of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage. In June 2017, members of the group were present at an
ACT for America ACT for America, founded in 2007, is a U.S.-based anti-Muslim advocacy group that opposes what it calls "the threat of radical Islam" to Americans. Critics of the group, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for American Pr ...
-sponsored "March against
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
" protest in front of the downtown Federal Building in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. The event was met by a larger group of counter-protesters. The Light Foot Militia group told reporters that "they did not support either side, but were there to make sure all sides were able to excise ictheir First Amendment rights." In August 2017, members of the NYLFM, along with militia-movement adherents from several other states, were present during the
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
. Group members carried rifles at the event. Although the groups were initially invited by the
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
organizers of rally, the militia groups said that they had come "in a neutral stance." Curbelo, the NYLFM's "commanding officer," criticized the Charlottesville Police Department for failing to separate opposing sides during the rally. ''Mother Jones'' magazine reported that "a group of assault-rifle-toting militia members from New York State, wearing body armor and desert camo, played a more active role in breaking up fights" than police did. In October 2017, the New York Light Foot Militia was named as one of several defendants in a lawsuit filed by the
Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection on behalf of the City of Charlottesville and several Charlottesville businesses and neighborhood associations. The suit alleges "that the presence of private armies significantly heightens the possibility of violence; that the rally organizers solicited private militias to attend the rally, held group-wide planning calls and circulated an instructional document called General Orders."Erin O'Hare
Militia men: American patriot groups say they don't condone violence
, ''C-Ville'' (25 October 2017).
The militia groups said they did not condone violence and instead intended to uphold the right to assemble, but that Charlottesville was "so overwhelming that the only thing we could do was pick people up off the floor" and act as "a neutral peacekeeping force". The NYLFM condemned the white supremacist presence at Charlottesville, and committed in a consent decree not to return. In September 2017, about two dozen members of the NYLFM, along with about 200 other militia movement members were present at the Mother of All Rallies, held in support of President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
on the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
. The group did not carry guns at this event because they are not permitted on the National Mall. During the event the group broke up "verbal skirmishes" between attendees and counter-demonstrators, and formed a "protective perimeter around police officers."blob:https://www.nbcnewyork.com/88e00674-80c2-4842-9249-0f603e6f0052 In May 2018, NYLFM took part in a national meeting of the
patriot movement In the United States, the patriot movement is a term which is used to describe a conglomeration of non-unified right-wing populist, nationalist political movements, most notably far-right armed militias, sovereign citizens, and tax protester ...
umbrella organization National Constitutional Citizens of Patriotic Americans (NCCPA). Members were due to participate in a Virginia Civilians Defense League gun rights Lobby Day in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
in January 2020. harlottesville-banned-these-far-right-activists-but-theyre-bringing-their-guns-to-richmond Charlottesville Banned These Far-Right Activists, but They’re Bringing Their Guns to Richmond ''Daily Beast'' January 2020


References

{{Reflist, 2 Right-wing militia organizations in the United States 2015 establishments in New York (state)