De Groot had stated that he 'felt that, the best reply to force, was greater force' and by May 1932 Campbell had started inciting street brawls, and came close to staging a coup d'etat against the Lang government. Against this backdrop the state Labor party formed a number of militias including the Workers' Defence Army (WDA), the Labor Defence Corps (LDC) and Lang's supporters had formed the Australian Labor Army (ALA). Street fights between Lang's Labor Army and fascist paramilitary groups including Sir Thomas Blamey's Victorian-based "White Army, also known as the League of National Security, and the New Guard became increasingly common as the New Guard attempted to discredit the left by starting brawls or other breaches of the peace.