Light Turnout for Militia Group Rally

A protest featuring several militia groups drew a light turnout for the first of two days of music and speeches decrying what organizers see as an increasingly powerful and intrusive federal government. “I just got a call, and people are stuck in traffic,” organizer Joseph Corey told about 100 people scattered on the Mall near the Capitol about an hour after the two-day demonstration began. In an interview, Corey had predicted 15,000 people would show up. “But it could be just 5,000, you never know,” he said then. “It’s always hard to tell.” The third annual rally, like last year’s, took place under the heightened scrutiny that militia groups have received since the Oklahoma City bombing. “This is the beginning of the effort to take back our government,” said Corey.