11 militia groups active in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Southern Poverty Law Center lists 11 militias active in Wisconsin.

Federal court records show militia members arrested for a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor Thursday, Oct. 8 trained in Cambria, Wisconsin.

Columbia County property records show Michael Jung owns the land the militia trained at.

He identified himself as second in command of a militia called the Three Percenters to a CBS 58 reporter Thursday.

The Three Percenters are a wing of the broader militia movement, which underwent a resurgence during the Obama administration.

The Anti Defamation League described the movement's members as distrusting the government and believing there is a conspiracy to strip American of their rights, especially the right to own guns.

The ADL said Three Percenters have simplified that fear and have spread nationally, with local branches in every state.

The ADL said the groups' support of President Donald Trump put it at odds with its anti-government ideology, leading to a shift toward distrust of state government.

A report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released Tuesday, Oct. 6 drew similar conclusions.

The report said the the threat from domestic violent extremists has grown, as the movement's anti-authority and anti-government views conflict with state coronavirus responses.

"They took the lockdown measures as evidence of some sort of effort by the government to strip away their freedoms, and that was something they couldn't stand," said ADL Investigative Researcher Alex Friedfeld.

Friedfeld said Facebook removed militia pages from its platform across the country, making it harder to know how many of the 11 Wisconsin groups are active.

He also said law enforcement has struggled to monitor these groups because many of their activities are protected by the First Amendment.

Law enforcement could act against the individuals in Michigan because it had evidence the group began taking actions to kidnap or kill the governor.