Minutemen (anti-Communist organization)

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The Minutemen was a militant anti-Communist organization formed in the United States in the early 1960s. The founder and head of the right-wing group was Robert Bolivar DePugh, a chemist from Norborne, Missouri. The Minutemen believed that Communism would soon take over all of America. The group — which saw themselves as new patriots — armed themselves and were preparing to take back the country if necessary.

The Minutemen organized themselves into small cells and stockpiled weapons for the counter-revolution. Some members would attempt to intimidate their enemies by mailing them a piece of paper with a crosshair on it. The implication was the person should be aware they were "in the Minutemen's gunsights".

In February 1968, DePugh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle, Washington for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Also in 1968, he was arrested for violation of federal firearms laws. He skipped bail and went underground for over a year until he was caught in 1969 in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He was released from prison in May 1973. DePugh later wrote a survival manual, Can You Survive?, and was associated briefly with Liberty Lobby.^[1]

It has been suggested^{[citation needed]} that the Minutemen were early forerunners of the Militia Movement.

[edit] Publication

The Minutemen's publication was a newsletter called "On Target".

Principals of Guerilla Warfare, Robert DePugh. Published by the Minutemen, San Diego, CA, 1961. 10 pages.
Blueprint for Victory, Robert DePugh. 1966.
Can You Survive? Robert DePugh. Published by Desert Publications, El Dorado, AZ, 1973. 214 pages.