MILAM COUNTY, Texas — In a town near you, there is a group with a mission. The Appleseed Project is turning Americans into marksmen.
Michael Adam is the project’s southwest regional coordinator. He invited News 8 to visit an Appleseed training weekend on his ranch in Milam County, about three hours south of Dallas.
"Appleseed is simply a rifle instruction organization along with American heritage," he said.
Appleseed-certified instructors weave Revolutionary War history lessons into rifle-instruction sessions.
The Appleseed Project has attracted the attention of the Anti-Defamation League. "We do not classify it as an extremist group," said Mark Briskman, the ADL’s Dallas regional director.
But the Anti-Defamation League is tracking the project.
Nearly every weekend, thousands of Americans take part in Appleseed training events. The organization estimates that 70,000 people will have received lessons by the end of next year.
"Our major concern is the militia certainly know who they are; certainly know what their activities are," Briskman said. "They serve as a real potential recruitment for the militia movement."
Adam, however, points out that political talk is prohibited at Appleseed events. "I tell the folks that come here, if you came here looking for any kind of compassion for your ideas on armed revolution, forget it — you're not getting it from me," Adam said.
Appleseed is open to anyone. According to participants, their reasons for coming were as varied as their backgrounds.
"I wanted to learn how to shoot better," said Betty Luker, who attended the Appleseed seminar along with a female friend. Both women are grandmothers.
The event News 8 attended also included veterans, a doctor, and a computer engineer.
At the end of the weekend, the graduates are encouraged to get more involved in their government, to write letters, and to vote.
Ultimately, however, the path they take is up to them — and will be watched closely by all sides.
E-mail chawes@wfaa.cmo
