On the shortwave front, a militia man in Kentucky that made history in March is back on the air under a different name.
Major Steve Anderson, a member of the Kentucky State Militia, first fired up Kentucky State Militia Radio on March first. KSMR became the first clandestine shortwave broadcaster ever to target the United States from within the country itself – stations of this type traditionally broadcast outside of the country they’re trying to propagandize.
Touting the station as an expression of the First Amendment “protected by the Second Amendment,” KSMR made several broadcasts for about three weeks, passing along militia contact information and warning the FCC to stay away.
FCC officials have publicly commented that they were aware of the station and were preparing an appropriate response. This apparently shook up the leaders of the Kentucky State Militia, who ordered Major Anderson to take KSMR off the air.
Anderson complied with the order, but had no intention of keeping the station silent for long. After about a week of downtime, a new patriot station appeared on 3260 KHz – KSMR’s old frequency – called “United Patriot Radio.”
Major Anderson hosts the new station, too. He’s recruited sponsorship and personnel from other militia groups around the country to keep the operation alive. United Patriot Radio’s signal is also reportedly stronger than the old KSMR station. Anderson had mentioned plans of upping the wattage significantly, although a power boost has not been confirmed.
United Patriot Radio is making plans to install a satellite system, allowing it to expand its time on air with more programming. Doing so would definitely increase the ire of the authorities, but Anderson has hinted that he’s prepared for a confrontation (although reluctant to have one).
As of yet, there has been no official response from the FCC to UPR’s challenges.
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