Over the last month, ever since the indictment of 13 men for plotting to kidnap the governor of Michigan, the word “militia” has appeared in thousands of newspaper headlines and TV news reports. The Detroit News: “Feds Say They Thwarted Militia Plot to Kidnap Whitmer.” NPR: “FBI Says Militia Plotted To Kidnap Michigan Governor.” ABC-12: “Militia Members Accused in Whitmer Kidnapping Face Life in Prison.” But all of these headlines are wrong, and almost every instance of the use of the word militia by journalists—as well as politicians and even law enforcement—has been wrong. Why? Because there is no such thing as a legal private paramilitary militia.