Time: Sun Mar 16 13:08:05 1997
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	Sun, 16 Mar 1997 10:43:51 -0700 (MST)
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 12:56:51 -0800
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: L&J: Morris Dees (fwd)

<snip>
>Sorry if this is a repost, but as I cleaned up my mailbox
>this afternoon, I found this, and am forwarding it as
>background on our good friend Morris Dees.
>
>I know I shouldn't have to say this, but for the record,
>I don't agree with Dees, his views, or his organization;
>in fact, I would relish the chance to smack him in the
>head.
>
>:)
>
>Todd
>
>
>      Reprinted from: The Balance, CAUSE Foundation, PO Box 
>      1235, Black Mountain, MC 28711, (704) 669-5189, FAX 
>      (704)669-5191.
>      
>      RENO, FBI, OTHER GROUPS TARGET MILITIAS
>      Leader's House Raided by Gun-Wielding Feds
>      
>      Janet Reno, the FBI, Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty 
>      Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Anti-
>      Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith have declared war 
>      on the 29 odd patriotic militia groups that have formed 
>      around the United States in recent years. These groups 
>      have been organizing to counter their perception o an 
>      attack on civil rights and the U.S. Constitution by prop- 
>      nents of the so-called New World Order.
>      
>      In a recent letter to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno 
>      Morris S. Dees, director of the SPLC, stated "There is 
>      growing danger posed by these unauthorized militia . . . 
>      The letter has been widely distributed to media sources b 
>      the SPLC. Dees claims that the SPLC has ''substantial 
>      evidence that White supremacists" have heavily infiltrate 
>      militia groups in at least six states, citing particularly 
>      Idaho and Montana. "In our view," said Dees, "this mixture 
>      c armed groups and those who hate is a recipe for disaster 
>      Dees expressed identical concerns about militias in letter 
>      sent to the attorney generals for Colorado, Florida, Idaho 
>      Montana, Nevada, and Texas. [Continued on Page 3. ]
>      
>      
>      Militia Mayhem, Continued.
>      
>      In the response to special interest group pressure, federal 
>      agencies, including BATF and FBI, have stepped up efforts 
>      to counter the militia groups. BATF's Intelligence Division 
>      has issued a "briefing paper" on the militia movement, 
>      dated October 26, 1994, to local law enforcement agencies 
>      across the United States. The briefing paper cites as its 
>      purpose "To provide an overview of the militia movement 
>      operating in the United States." "The militia movement is a 
>      grassroots effort that is similar to the tax protest and 
>      anti-government campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s," the 
>      report states. "During the past six months this movement 
>      has swept the country." A facsimile of the briefing paper 
>      follows:
>      
>      Briefing Paper
>      Intelligence Division
>      October 26, 1994
>      
>      SUBJECT: To provide an Overview of the Militia 
>      Movement Operating Throughout the United States.
>       
>      Background:
>      
>      The militia movement is a grassroots effort that is similar 
>      to the tax Protest and anti-government campaigns of the 
>      1970s and 1980s. During the past six months this movement 
>      has swept across the country.
>      
>      A catalyst of the movement was the formation of the Militia 
>      of Montana, a.k.a. MOM, organized after the standoff with 
>      Randy Weaver in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. The Branch Davidian 
>      siege in Waco also fueled the spread of the movement.
>      
>      Militia organizers cite these incidents as well as the 
>      passage of the Brady Bill and the Crime Control Bill, as 
>      the basis for establishing militias-- the last line of 
>      defense against Federal law enforcement. To date militias 
>      have been identified in 20 states.
>      
>      ---   
>      
>      In his letter to Reno, Dees said, "Citizens have the right 
>      to form peaceful groups to protest gun legislation and to 
>      engage in target practice," but he said that the militia 
>       groups have no right to violate state paramilitary laws or 
>      to "harass minorities." "I believe it is highly likely 
>      that illegal activity of this sort is already occurring," 
>      Dees told Reno, showing that he had no evidence of its 
>      occurrence. Several states, including North Carolina, have 
>      passed anti-militia statutes under the guise of "hate 
>      crime" laws.
>      
>      
>      No Poverty at Poverty Palace
>      
>      CAUSE believes that, with internal strife over continued 
>      harassment of the Ku Klux Klan, a major funding activity, 
>      Dees and his SPLC are targeting other groups for fund-
>      raising purposes. There is little poverty at the "poverty" 
>      law center. The Montgomery Advertiser published a series 
>      of articles on the Southern Poverty Law Center and Morris 
>      S. Dees, the center's co-founder and chairman of its 
>      executive committee. Following a two-year investigation, 
>      the reporters said of the SPLC: "What emerges is a complex 
>      portrait of a wealthy civil rights organization 
>      essentially controlled by one man: Morris Dees."
>      
>      Between August 1,1984 and this past spring, "the center 
>      has taken in about $62-million in contributions and spend 
>      about $21-million on actual programs, according to federal 
>      tax records," the newspaper reported. During the same 
>      period, the center's total income from its investments 
>      ($22.1 million) "exceeded the amount spent on actual 
>      programs ($20.8-million)," according to the Advertiser. 
>      What this means is Dees' SPLC barely spends the interest 
>      on its endowment. Moreover, according to the reporters: 
>      "The law center, which has crusaded for the rights of 
>      Blacks for 2< years, is controlled by Whites. It has hired 
>      only two black staff attorneys in its history, both of 
>      whom left unhappy." The SPLC was contacted by CAUSE during 
>      the Branch Davidian siege at Waco to see if they would 
>      help prevent the tragedy the SPLC declined to get 
>      involved. The SPLC will use the attack on the militia 
>      movement to gain even more financial support. [Continued 
>      on Page 5.]
>      
<snipped to end>

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Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.    : Counselor at Law, federal witness
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