American Patriot: Inside the Armed Uprising Against the Federal Government 1x54

FRONTLINE goes inside the battle between a ranching family in the West and the federal government, examining how a simmering fight over land in Nevada and Oregon became deadly, invigorated a wider militia movement, and continues to challenge law enforcement.

Drawing on deep access to key people on all sides of the battle, American Patriot investigates the standoffs that propelled the Bundys, a family of ranchers in Nevada, into the national spotlight and the crosshairs of the federal government. With “Patriot” groups that rallied to the Bundys’ cause surging to levels not seen in decades, the film also reports on what’s next for the family and the wider movement around them.

What began as one family’s dispute with the government over grazing fees has reinvigorated a national movement of self-styled militias and “Patriots.” They believe the federal government has overstepped its authority, strayed from its founding principles, and is filled with agents they are duty-bound to oppose. They call themselves Oath Keepers, Constitutional Sheriffs, sovereign citizens, Three Percenters. And while each group has its own cause, they rally under the same banner: opposition to federal overreach.

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