As we were digging in to find out more about this Christian militia in Michigan called the Hutaree, we came across a bizarre 20-minute video on YouTube in which one of the defendants “stars.” The creators seemed to fancy it as a low-budget movie, complete with what is supposed to be acting. But it’s exceedingly amateurish and disturbing (our Zack Roth calls it “shockingly puerile”). To give you an idea, the opening scene includes accused militia member Kris Sickles, who sometimes goes by the name “Pale Horse,” nearly nude with a George W. Bush mask stuck to his genitals.

Within a few hours of us stumbling across it, the video was yanked from YouTube, but TPM Reader AS had grabbed the file. We’ve posted a 5-minute excerpt here (NSFW).

It’s difficult to describe the video. Think Jackass meets The Birth of a Nation. It leaves you wondering how these immature, crude, stunted personalities end up as radicalized militants. Or maybe that explains it.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.