But experts who monitor the anti-government movement say an even greater concern is lurking behind the confrontation that erupted Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the high desert of eastern Oregon.
The militia movement, they say, is in the midst of a massive growth spurt at levels even greater than in the early 1990s after the Waco, Texas, standoff and the siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. It peaked after the Oklahoma City bombing.
"It's bigger than anything we've seen before," said Leonard Zeskind, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. "And it's not simply a resurgence of the '90s militia movement; it's different in many ways. Now it's much broader."
The growth of an "insurgent militia movement," Zeskind said, is the result of a combination of events, including a renewed effort to strengthen gun control laws and the revival of the white nationalist movement over the Confederate flag issue.