The movement originally referred to the late 1980s' Posse Comitatus group, a militant far-

right organization. The Posse Comitatus followed an ideology based on the teachings of its
founder William Potter Gale, who was also a Christian Identity minister, and the majority of the
Christian Patriot movement's members still adhere to Christian Identity's white
supremacist[1][2] views.[citation needed] This ideology holds the view that state and federal governments are
agents of an arcane conspiracy to deprive Americans of their rights as "sovereign citizens." It also
holds the view that this conspiracy can be undermined through various legal pleadings from English
common law and other sources, such as a motion protesting the way a defendant's name is typeset
in a legal complaint.[3] The ideology persists despite numerous court rulings that have declared its
theories frivolous.[4]

Status[edit]
The movement grew during the 1990s after the Ruby Ridge and Waco Sieges appeared to confirm
the suspicions of Christian Patriots.[5] The movement maintained its ties with the militia movement of
the same period. A highly publicized federal confrontation with Christian Patriots occurred in 1996,
when Federal marshals arrested the Montana Freemen.[3]After 2000, the original movement became
defunct and the term Christian Patriot was increasingly adopted by conservative Christians who
identified themselves as patriots.[citation needed]
In 2009 The Southern Poverty Law Center said that militia groups may be experiencing a "P