PORTLAND, Maine — A bill to restrict paramilitary training in Maine in response to a neo-Nazi who wanted to create a training center for a “blood tribe” was signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
The law, which the governor signed without public comment, allows the attorney general to seek a court order to halt paramilitary training intended to sow civil unrest — and to file charges where carries a prison sentence of up to one year.
Rep. Laurie Osher of Orono introduced the bill after a prominent neo-Nazi and white supremacist, Christopher Pohlhaus, wanted to set up a training center on property that he eventually sold before carrying out the plan.
“I welcome people to come to Maine and live here and work hard to make Maine a better place. But I don’t welcome people who want to turn Maine into a white ethnostate,” Osher, a Democrat, said Friday evening. “This bill makes it clear that anyone who has that intention is not allowed to do so here.”
Opponents argued that the measure could trample on constitutional rights, while supporters said it aims to prevent the creation of shadow forces aimed at creating civil unrest.
Osher said many constituents told her lawmakers they needed to do something about the rise in harassment and intolerance toward the state’s growing diversity. But the law does not target any specific group, she said.
Attorney General Aaron Frey said militias that don’t follow orders from civilian leaders are already prohibited by the Maine Constitution, but that specifically applies to groups that parade weapons in public or dress in clothing that resembles real military uniforms.
Without the new law, he previously said, he had no way of filing a criminal case against someone who used military training to sow civil unrest, as authorities say Pohlhaus tried to do.
Pohlhaus has hinted that if he tried to set up a training facility again, he would make sure the property was not in his name to avoid suspicion.
Vermont took a similar action last year by banning people from owning and operating paramilitary training camps. That bill came in response to a firearms training facility that was built without a permit and which neighbors described as a nuisance.
The Vermont law, which came about in response to a property known as Slate Ridge, prohibits people from teaching, training or demonstrating to others how to make or use firearms, explosives or incendiary devices to commit civil unrest cause.
It does not apply to law enforcement or educational institutions such as Norwich University. Violators face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.