Current:Home > FinanceMaine governor signs bill restricting paramilitary training in response to neo-Nazi’s plan -Mastery Money Tools
Maine governor signs bill restricting paramilitary training in response to neo-Nazi’s plan
View
Date:2025-04-15 23:09:56
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A bill to restrict paramilitary training in Maine in response to a neo-Nazi who wanted to create a training center for a “blood tribe” was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Friday.
The law, which the governor signed without public comment, allows the attorney general to file for a court injunction to stop such efforts and to bring charges that carry a penalty of up to a year in jail.
It was introduced after the prominent neo-Nazi and white supremacist, Christopher Pohlhaus, sought to set up a training center on property that he ultimately sold before carrying out the plan.
Opponents argued that the measure could trample on constitutional rights, while supporters said it aims to prevent the creation of shadow military forces for purposes of sowing civil disorder.
Attorney General Aaron Frey said militias that don’t follow the orders of civilian leaders were already prohibited by the Maine Constitution, but that applies specifically to groups parading with guns in public or outfitted in clothing that looks like real military uniforms.
Before the new law, he said, he had no way to bring a criminal case against someone using military training to create civil disorder, as authorities say Pohlhaus sought to do.
Vermont took a similar action last year by banning people from owning and running paramilitary training camps. That bill came in response to a firearms training facility built without permits that neighbors called a nuisance.
The Vermont law, which came in response to a property known as Slate Ridge, prohibits people from teaching, training or demonstrating to others how to make or use firearms, explosives or incendiary devices to cause civil disorder.
It does not apply to law enforcement or educational institutions like Norwich University. Violators face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000 or both.
veryGood! (4826)
Related
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- The NBA and its players have a deal for a new labor agreement
- Inside Clean Energy: Offshore Wind Takes a Big Step Forward, but Remains Short of the Long-Awaited Boom
- Former NFL Star Ryan Mallett Dead at 35 in Apparent Drowning at Florida Beach
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Saving Starving Manatees Will Mean Saving This Crucial Lagoon Habitat
- Inside Clean Energy: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Reaches a Contentious End
- Ex-Florida lawmaker behind the 'Don't Say Gay' law pleads guilty to COVID relief fraud
- Small twin
- A Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion has killed 7 people
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Get a Next-Level Clean and Save 58% On This Water Flosser With 4,200+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews
- Disney World board picked by DeSantis says predecessors stripped them of power
- Will Biden Be Forced to Give Up What Some Say is His Best Shot at Tackling Climate Change?
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- A New Hampshire beauty school student was found dead in 1981. Her killer has finally been identified.
- Bill Gates’ Vision for Next-Generation Nuclear Power in Wyoming Coal Country
- Inside Clean Energy: Lawsuit Recalls How Elon Musk Was King of Rooftop Solar and then Lost It
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Fossil Fuel Companies Stand to Make Billions From Tax Break in Democrats’ Build Back Better Bill
TikTok CEO says company is 'not an agent of China or any other country'
SEC charges Digital World SPAC, formed to buy Truth Social, with misleading investors
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Yes, You Can Stay at Barbie's Malibu DreamHouse Because Life in Plastic Is Fantastic
What banks do when no one's watching
The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why