联邦调查局最近挫败一起绑架密歇根州州长的阴谋，突显在美国大选投票日临近之际，一群自封的民兵可能会扮演暴力角色。
 
 

 
The FBI’s disruption of a plot by the Wolverine Watchmen to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan has highlighted the potentially violent role a clutch of self-styled militias could play as Americans go to the polls next month. 6park.com
美国联邦调查局(FBI)挫败了一起由“金刚狼守望者”(Wolverine Watchmen)策划的绑架密歇根州民主党州长的阴谋，突显出随着美国人下月投票选举，一群自封的民兵可能会扮演暴力角色。 6park.com
“I remain concerned about safety and integrity going up to this election,” Gretchen Whitmer, the target of the alleged plot, told CBS on Sunday. She warned that such “domestic terrorists” were finding comfort and support in the rhetoric from both the White House and wider Republican leadership.  6park.com
“我对这次选举之前的社会安全和完整仍感担忧，”这起据称的阴谋的目标格雷琴•惠特默(Gretchen Whitmer)上周日对哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)表示。她警告说，这些“国内恐怖分子”正在白宫乃至整个共和党领导层的言论中找到安慰和支持。 6park.com
Donald Trump has refused to commit himself to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose on November 3, citing unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud. He told one rightwing group, Proud Boys, to “stand back and standby” during last month’s presidential debate. His son Donald Trump Jr has also called for “every able-bodied man, woman to join Army For Trump’s election security operation” on Facebook and Twitter. 6park.com
唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)已拒绝承诺若11月3日大选落败会和平移交权力，理由是有一些未经证实的选举欺诈指控。在上月的总统大选辩论中，他告诉右翼团体“骄傲男孩”(Proud Boys，见文首照片)“退后待命”。他的儿子小唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump Jr)也在Facebook和Twitter上呼吁“所有身体健全的男人和女人都加入到特朗普选举安保行动的大军中”。
 
 

 
Extremism experts describe such unofficial militias as dangerous armed vigilante groups that have no standing in law. Only militias authorised by the state, such as the 450,000-strong citizen-soldier National Guard, are legally recognised. Several self-styled militia groups, which nevertheless seek to claim legitimacy under the second amendment of the US constitution and 1900s militia legislation, are vowing to show up to polls heavily armed. Some also seek ties with local authorities and law enforcement. 6park.com
研究极端主义的专家称，这些非官方民兵是危险的武装治安团体，没有法律地位。只有得到国家授权的民兵才被合法承认，如拥有45万名公民士兵的国民警卫队(National Guard)。然而，有若干自封的民兵组织寻求根据美国宪法第二修正案和20世纪初民兵法案获得合法性，这些组织已誓言要全副武装地出现在投票站。一些团体还寻求与地方当局和执法部门建立联系。 6park.com
Josh Ellis, who runs an online platform for hundreds of self-styled militias across the country, said heavily armed Trump-supporting civilians could show up to polling stations in states including California, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky and possibly North Carolina. 6park.com
乔希•埃利斯(Josh Ellis)经营着一个网络平台，为全国数百个自封的民兵组织提供服务。他表示，在多个州的投票站可能会出现全副武装的支持特朗普的平民，包括加利福尼亚州、俄勒冈州、华盛顿州、宾夕法尼亚州、佐治亚州、南卡罗来纳州、印第安纳州、肯塔基州，可能还会有北卡罗来纳州。 6park.com
“I have heard one or two-man or even three-man militia teams will come out to protect and make sure voting locations are secure,” he told the Financial Times, adding the stakes were raised because some on the left were armed and because the right was expecting Mr Trump to win in “a landslide”. But he said they would take further action only if the president encouraged them to do so.  6park.com
“我听说届时将有一人、两人甚至三人民兵小组会去保护投票，确保投票站是安全的，”他向英国《金融时报》表示。他还说事态升级的原因是一些左派人士携带了武器，而右派人士们预计特朗普会“压倒性”地获胜。但他表示，只有当总统鼓励他们采取进一步行动时，他们才会这样做。
 
 

 
“If there’s a clear sign of corruption there’s definitely going to be outrage. And I don’t know where that goes,” he said. 6park.com
他说：“如果届时有明显的腐败迹象，肯定会引起公愤。我不知道到时候情况会如何发展。” 6park.com
“If Trump comes out and says something to the effect of ‘this was clearly stolen from me’ and puts a call to action, per the constitution he is the commander-in-chief and can call to action the militias in the United States,” he said. 6park.com
他说：“如果特朗普站出来说‘这显然是从我这里窃取的’之类的话，并呼吁采取行动，根据宪法他是总司令，他可以号召美国的民兵采取行动。” 6park.com
Mary McCord, legal director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, said Mr Trump’s warnings that he could lose only if he were cheated out of the vote were “dog whistles” for vigilantes to take their own action. Her team was seeing “more and more militia activity” ahead of polls. 6park.com
乔治敦大学法律中心(Georgetown University Law Center)宪法倡导和保护研究所(Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection)的法务总监玛丽•麦科德(Mary McCord)表示，特朗普有关他只有在选票被欺骗的情况下才会输掉选举的警告，是对这些自封的民兵吹响的“狗哨”，号召他们采取行动。她的团队看到，随着投票日临近，全美各地出现了“越来越多的民兵活动”。
 
 

 
She said that while it was illegal for a group of armed individuals to activate themselves as militias on behalf of law enforcement, local police reactions ranged in some parts of the country from “tacit acceptance to encouragement and actual collaboration”. 6park.com
她说，尽管一群武装人员以执法为名把自己组织为民兵是非法的，但在美国一些地区，当地警方的反应包括“默许、鼓励，以及实际合作”。 6park.com
“A lot of times the police just simply are misinformed,” she said. 6park.com
“很多时候，警察只是被误导了，”她说。 6park.com
One local county sheriff in Michigan previously praised and shared a public stage with members of the Wolverine Watchmen, which the FBI and state police said tested explosives, conducted weapons training and watched Ms Whitmer’s home as part of their alleged plot. He appeared to defend the group by suggesting they may have been planning a “felony arrest” rather than kidnap.  6park.com
密歇根州一位当地县警长曾称赞“金刚狼守望者”，并与他们一起站在一个公共讲台上。而联邦调查局和该州警方表示，“金刚狼守望者”进行了爆炸物试验、武器训练，并监视了惠特默的家，作为他们被指策划的阴谋的一部分。这位警长似乎为该组织辩护，提出他们可能在筹划一场“公民逮捕”，而不是绑架。
 
 

 
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, video footage captured a police officer thanking and tossing a water bottle to 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, an armed militia sympathiser who allegedly went on to shoot dead two people during late-August anti-racist protests. He was subsequently arrested. His lawyer says he was acting in self-defence. 6park.com
在威斯康星州基诺沙市(Kenosha)，一段视频拍到一名警察向17岁的武装民兵同情者凯尔•里滕豪斯(Kyle Rittenhouse)致谢，并扔给他一瓶水。后来，里滕豪斯被控在8月下旬的反种族主义抗议活动中开枪打死两人。他随后被捕。他的律师说他是出于自卫。 6park.com
Many rightwing groups counter that some leftwing groups also carry weapons. During a summer of largely peaceful, nationwide anti-racist marches in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, there were outbreaks of violence, arson and looting in several locations. On Saturday, police said a man was shot dead during opposing protests held by Black Lives Matter and so-called “Patriot” groups in Denver, Colorado. 6park.com
许多右翼团体反驳说，一些左翼团体也携带武器。在警察开枪打死乔治•弗洛伊德(George Floyd)之后的整个夏天里，全美反种族主义游行基本上是和平的，有几个地方爆发了暴力、纵火和抢劫。上周六警方表示，在科罗拉多州丹佛市相互对立的抗议活动——分别由“黑人的命也是命”(Black Lives Matter)和所谓的“爱国者”组织举行——期间，一名男子被枪杀。 6park.com
“We have no need for armed militias roaming America’s streets and we should have no tolerance for extremist white supremacist groups menacing our communities,” Mr Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, said last week in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 6park.com
特朗普的民主党对手乔•拜登(Joe Biden)上周在宾夕法尼亚州葛底斯堡(Gettysburg)表示：“我们不需要武装民兵在美国街头游荡，我们也不应该容忍威胁我们社区的极端白人至上主义团体。” 6park.com
In some cases, police have tried to deter militia groups, including those who set up illegal roadblocks and identity checks in Multnomah county, Oregon, last month.  6park.com
在某些情况下，警方试图阻止民兵组织，包括上月在俄勒冈州姆尔特诺默县(Multnomah County)设置非法路障和进行身份检查的那些组织。 6park.com
But in Virginia, which has recently tightened gun laws, some local militias have this year successfully sought formal recognition from local boards — organs of county government — such as Virginia's Bedford and Campbell counties. They were seeking local recognition of their right to form and serve if called upon by the governor or president.  6park.com
但在最近收紧枪支法律的弗吉尼亚州，一些地方民兵今年成功获得地方委员会——县政府机构——的正式承认，如弗吉尼亚州的贝德福德县(Bedford County)和坎贝尔县(Campbell County)。他们正在寻求当地承认他们在州长或总统发出号召的情况下组织起来效力的权利。 6park.com
Ms McCord said such decisions carried no legal weight but muddied the water and made militias “feel like they have a little bit more authority and potential authority to co-ordinate with police or local sheriffs”. 6park.com
宪法倡导和保护研究所的麦科德表示，这样的决定没有任何法律效力，但混淆了视听，让民兵组织“感觉他们有了更多的权限，潜在还有权限与警方或地方治安官协作”。 6park.com
In Halifax county, “Commander” Mitzi Thompson’s militia is organised into platoons, requires members to wear official army camouflage, supports Republican fundraisers and warns that leftwing domestic terrorists are preparing an insurgency to steal the elections from Mr Trump, according to her Facebook posts. Last month, she posted the image of a cannon firing out flames emblazoned with the warning: “Hold the line, Riders. Justice is coming.” 6park.com
根据米兹•汤普森(Mitzi Thompson)在Facebook上的帖子，这名“指挥官”在弗吉尼亚州哈利法克斯县(Halifax County)的民兵组织以排为单位，成员被要求穿上正规的陆军迷彩服，支持共和党筹款活动。她警告说，左翼国内恐怖分子正在策划一场武装叛乱，以窃取特朗普的选举。上月，她贴出了一个大炮开火的图片，上面印有警告：“守住阵地，骑手们。正义来了。” 6park.com
Facebook has taken down at least 6,500 pages and groups linked to more than 300 US militias after it announced in mid-August that it was culling groups that host “discussions of potential violence” on its platform, including “when they use veiled language and symbols”. 6park.com
Facebook在8月中旬宣布删除在其平台上主办“潜在暴力讨论”的团体，包括“使用隐晦的语言和符号”的讨论。自那以来，该平台删除了至少6500个页面和与300多个美国民兵组织有关的群组。 6park.com
Stanley Brandon, a Halifax county board supervisor who last month successfully opposed an attempt to lend formal support to the local county militia, told the FT that armed militias carrying semi-automatic weapons made situations “totally volatile”. 6park.com
哈利法克斯县监事会监事斯坦利•布兰登(Stanley Brandon)上月成功阻止了向当地民兵提供正式支持的企图，他告诉英国《金融时报》，携带半自动武器的武装民兵使局势“完全动荡”。 6park.com
“It is a very dangerous thing . . . people are purchasing guns that have never purchased guns before,” he said. “You want us to give you the nod to outgun the police? No, no.” 6park.com
他说：“这是一件非常危险的事情……从未买过枪的人们正在购买枪支。你想让我们同意你持有比警察火力更大的枪支？不行，不行。”