The Christian militia that trained for war to the tune of heavy metal

The nine anti-government militia members arrested for planning to "levy war" on the United States had made no attempt to hide their activities before being arrested. They actually posted videos of themselves training for combat, under their group name, on a YouTube account.

Accused of planning to "levy war" against the United States with weapons of mass destruction, nine members of the "Hutaree" militia were arrested at the weekend and now face life imprisonment for their intentions.

The group planned to murder a police officer in Michigan and then turn up to his funeral in order to kill as many of his colleagues as possible. The move was hoped to spark a war with the authorities. The Hutaree, or "Christian warriors", said on their website that their battle would "keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive".

The Hutaree group demonstrates the radical end of an anti-state sentiment which has recently taken hold of the US rightwing; (a consensus further fuelled by what the opponents consider "big government" under the ruling Democrats). According to an intelligence report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the number of "patriot" groups in the US rose from 149 to 512 between 2008 and 2009; 127 of them defined as militia organisations.

Flare guns, dogs…. and bass guitar

Videos posted on Hutaree's YouTube account; the first of them in July 2007.

The group burns the UN flag and replaces it with their own.

Music is attributed to a group called Poker Face, which are clearly "patriot" by the looks of their website. In response to the Hutaree arrests, the group states: "Given the government's track record against we the free, it makes us suspect government motives first, not the Hutaree".

The obligatory track to this video comes from an unlikely candidate; Hammerfall, a heavy metal group from... Sweden.