 | |
| Formation | September 1983; 42 years ago (1983-09) |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | December 1984; 40 years ago (1984-12) |
| Type | Paramilitary,White supremacist,neo-Nazi |
| Purpose | foment a white supremacist revolution against the "Zionist Occupation Government", establishan all-white homeland in the Pacific Northwest, and commitgenocide againstblacks,Jews, "race-mixers", and other perceived enemies |
| Location |
|
Key people | |
| Affiliations | Aryan Nations The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord |
The Order, also known as theSilent Brotherhood,[1] was aneo-Nazi terrorist organization active in the United States between September 1983 and December 1984.[2][3][4] The group raised funds via armed robbery. Ten members were tried and convicted forracketeering, and two members were tried and convicted for their role in the 1984 murder of radio talk show hostAlan Berg.[5]
The Order's main objective was to start awhite supremacist revolution against the United States, after which,Black Americans,Jewish Americans, "race mixers", and other perceived enemies would be exterminated. Inspired byThe Turner Diaries, the organization declared war on thefederal government of the United States underRonald Reagan, which it called the "Zionist occupied government".[6][7] The Order drew up a hit list of enemies, and on June 18, 1984, radio talk show host Alan Berg was murdered in front of his home by Bruce Pierce, assisted by other members of the Order.[8] Berg was number two on the Order's list.[9]
In December 1984, authorities were able to track downRobert Jay Mathews, the organization's leader, to a house onWhidbey Island in Washington State, where he refused to surrender.[10] Mathews was suspected of wounding anFBI agent in a previous shooting inOregon.[11] During a shootout, the house was ignited by incendiaryflares and became engulfed in flames, with Mathews being killed.[10]
The Order was founded byRobert Jay Mathews in late September 1983 at his farm nearMetaline, Washington.[12] Reportedly, Mathews's farm was where the members trained.[13] Mathews had previously formed the Sons of Liberty, ananti-communist militia mostly made up of Mormonsurvivalists, fundamentalists and associates ofJohn Singer that had no connection to the historical Americanorganization of the same name.
A fundamental goal of the Order was revolution against the American government, which its members, and those of other white supremacist groups, believed to be controlled by a cabal ofJews with internationalist and Jewish-racial loyalties, rather than loyalty to the American nation. The Order was named after, and partly modeled on, a fictional terrorist group inWilliam Luther Pierce's novelThe Turner Diaries.[10] The Order's goals included the establishment of a homeland (now theNorthwest Territorial Imperative) from which Jews and non-whites would be barred. They often referred to theUnited States federal government asZOG, anacronym forZionist occupied government. Members of the Order included Randy Evans, Gary Yarborough, Bruce Pierce, Denver Parmenter, Frank DeSilva (also known as Frank Silva), Richard Scutari,David Lane, Randy Duey, and David Tate.
Next, the group discussed how to fund actions of the Order, considering bidding on lumber-jacking and timber contracts,counterfeiting money, diaspora funding from overseas oil countries, and robberies. Though timber contracts were legal, counterfeiting money appealed to the ideals of the group in that it undermined the government by devaluing US currency. Robbery was first denied as an option due to its perceived sinful nature, until someone suggested they could rob pimps and drug dealers, which would raise money for the organization as well as set back street criminals in their businesses.[14]
The organization won a bid on a timber trimming contract for a trail in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. After five hours of grueling work, Mathews decided to call off the work and head home. Headed back to the trucks, David Lane muttered, "Well, we're going to have to be better thinkers than our fathers were, because we're sure not the men they were,"[14] while Mathews mentions that the pay off from the job "would not fund the right wing for a week anyway."[14] The Order decided to try their hand at robberies, attempting to target pimps and drug dealers. After weeks of trailing black men in flashy cars, they realized they had no idea what a pimp or drug dealer looked like,[citation needed] and decided to switch to other crimes for funding.
The Order raised money through robbery. This began with the robbery of a pornographic video store, which netted them $369.10.[15] Their later robberies were more effective, including abank robbery, followed by a series of three armored car robberies. In the armored car robberies, they took a total of $4.1 million, including their final armored car robbery nearUkiah,California that netted them $3.8 million. The Order detonated a timed firebomb in a movie theater in Seattle (causing no deaths or injuries), in order to occupy the police during their second plannedarmored car robbery that took place the next day. They also detonated a bomb at the onlysynagogue inBoise,Idaho.[16] Proceeds from these robberies were distributed to leaders of sympathetic organizations such asWilliam Pierce (National Alliance) andFrazier Glenn Miller, Jr. (White Patriot Party).[17][18][19]
The Order also ran acounterfeiting operation, but their bills were of poor quality, especially early on, and they led to Bruce Pierce being jailed early on, which later precipitated the group's downfall.
The Order was ultimately brought down when a member, Tom Martinez, approached the FBI and offered to turn informant. His role in the organisation had been to pass counterfeit money and he had been arrested on June 29, 1984, for passing counterfeit ten dollar bills to buy liquor. After he was released on his own recognizance Mathews convinced him to go underground and during this period Martinez learned that Mathews intended to kill the liquor store owner in order to prevent him from testifying. When he learned of Mathews's plan, Martinez approached the FBI and offered to turn informant.[20][21]
On December 8, 1984, Mathews was cornered in a rented waterfront house off Smugglers Cove Rd nearGreenbank, Washington onWhidbey Island.[22] After a two-hour shoot-out, involving the use of machine-guns, tear gas and a helicopter to illuminate the target with flares, Mathews's house was engulfed by flames and, according to FBI officials, exploded in "a huge fireball". Mathews had been wanted for the shooting of an FBI agent in Oregon two weeks before.[11]
Ten members of the Order were tried and convicted underRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) statutes with the help of the testimony ofFrazier Glenn Miller, Jr., who testified against Order members in order to have his own sentence reduced. In a separate trial, three other members of the Order were tried and convicted of violating thecivil rights of Alan Berg.[23] No one has been charged in the murder of Berg.David Lane, thegetaway driver for Berg's assailants, was sentenced to 190 consecutive years on the charges ofracketeering,conspiracy, and violating Berg's civil rights. He died in prison in 2007.[24] Order member Bruce Pierce was sentenced to 252 years in prison for his involvement in the Berg murder, and died of natural causes at theAllenwood Federal Correctional Complex on August 16, 2010 at the age of 56.[25] Like Mathews, Lane and Pierce are regarded by manywhite-supremacists as heroes, political prisoners, and martyrs.[citation needed] Inanother trial, 14 men were charged withsedition, conspiracy, and civil rights violations.[24] Thirteen of them were acquitted, and the judge dismissed the charges against the fourteenth man for lack of evidence.[24]
A 2011NPR report claimed that some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictivecommunication management unit.[26] Richard Scutari, a member of the Order, was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in 1986,[27] and was transferred toUSP Marion CMU in July 2008.
| Name | Associated Group(s) | Sentence | Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Charles Tate | Church of Israel andAryan Nations | Life imprisonment without parole | Incarcerated atSoutheast Correctional Center | [28][29][30][14][31] |
| Richard Joseph Scutari | The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord | 60 years | Incarcerated atFCI Mendota[32] Released January 21, 2025[33] | |
| Thomas Allen Martinez | National Alliance | 3 years probation | [34] | |
| Andrew Virgil Barnhill | The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord | 40 years | Released on April 24, 2008 | |
| Ardie McBrearty | Posse Comitatus | 40 years | Released on July 3, 1995 | [35] |
| David Eden Lane | Aryan Nations | 190 years | Died while incarcerated atFCI Terre Haute on May 28, 2007 | |
| Bruce Carroll Pierce | Aryan Nations | 252 years | Died while incarcerated atUSP Allenwood on August 16, 2010 | |
| Sharon Merki | LaPorte Church of Christ | 25 years | ||
| Jean Margaret Craig | 40 years | Died in prison on April 18, 2001 | [36][37] | |
| Denver Daw Parmenter II | Church of Jesus Christ–Christian | 20 years | [38] | |
| Randolph George Duey | Aryan Nations | 100 years | Incarcerated atFCI Butner Medium | |
| Frank Lee Silva | Ku Klux Klan | 40 years | Released on August 18, 1998 | |
| Gary Lee Yarbrough | Aryan Nations | 60 years | Died while incarcerated atADX Florence in 2018 | |
| Zillah Craig | [39] | |||
| Jackie Lee Norton | The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord | 6 months plus 5 years probation | [40] | |
| James Sherman Dye | 20 years | [41] | ||
| Robert E. Merki | LaPorte Church of Christ | 30 years |
The Order II, which is also known as theBruder Schweigen Strike Force II, was an attempt to perpetuate the activities of the first Order by David and Deborah Dorr, both of whom were previously members ofAryan Nations, but their activities were confined to the state ofIdaho.[42] The group launched its first attack on March 6, 1986, when it sent a packaged bomb to Gary Solomon, a local Jewish businessman who owned the Solomon Trucking company inHayden Lake, Idaho.[43] No casualties resulted from the incident and it is unknown whether or not the explosion caused any property damage. The bomb was sent by David Dorr, the leader of Order II, a group that grew out of the original Order, which had previously collapsed. Order II (Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II) was also anti-government and antisemitic.[44][45]
On August 7 of the same year, a 12-inch tube bomb exploded at Fred Bower's auto repair shop inHayden,Idaho, causing about $2,000 in damage.[43] No casualties resulted from the incident. The two perpetrators, David and Deborah Dorr, and an alleged third perpetrator, Edward W. Hawley, were members of the Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II.[46]
On September 16, 1986, an explosion was reported in front of the house of a Catholic priest who lived in the city ofCoeur d'Alene, in Idaho. The explosion caused no injuries. It only caused property damage.[47][48] On September 29, 1986, his latest attack targeted a federal building, a telephone and luggage store, and a restaurant parking lot inCoeur d'Alene, without causing any injuries.[43]
TheATF and local, state and federal security forces collected evidence from the scene of the blast and executed a federal search warrant at Dorr's residence three days later. Special agents discovered a shelter that housedAR-15s converted to select-fire assault rifles in violation of federal firearms laws. Thirty other firearms, large amounts of ammunition, and counterfeit money were also found.[49][50] They also discovered bomb-making components that were used in the September 29 explosion, as well as in previous bombings. The militants received federal sentences which ranged from 6 to 30 years and state sentences which ranged from 5 years to life in prison.[51][52][53]
Several projects premiered during 1988, which drew inspiration from—albeit seldom direct depictions of—the events that unfolded during The Order's brief reign: TheOliver Stone-directed filmTalk Radio, starringEric Bogosian (who adaptedhis own play)[54] as a fictionalradio DJ similar toAlan Berg, drew inspiration from his assassination.[55] That same year, the filmBetrayed—directed byCosta-Gavras and starringDebra Winger as an undercoverFBI agent,[56] tasked with infiltratingTom Berenger's clandestine "family"—also drew inspiration from The Order and its activities.[56] In addition, a play from playwrightSteven Dietz titledGod's Country[57] documented the real-life events in atriptych, utilizing several key individuals as characters.[58] It premiered atSeattle'sACT Theatre on August 18, 1988.[59]
In 1989, thenon-fiction bookThe Silent Brotherhood,[60] written byinvestigative journalists Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, was published detailing The Order's history of events.[14]
A 1999 television film calledBrotherhood of Murder, based upon theautobiography written by group member-turned-FBIinformant Tom Martinez (along with co-writer John Guinther),[61][62] aired onShowtime. It starredWilliam Baldwin as Martinez;Kelly Lynch as his wife, Susan; andPeter Gallagher as The Order's leaderRobert Jay Mathews.[61]
The crime drama-thriller filmThe Order, loosely based on the aforementioned Flynn & Gerhardt bookThe Silent Brotherhood,[60] was released in 2024.[56] It features portrayals fromNicholas Hoult as Mathews;[60]Alison Oliver as his wife, Debbie;[63]Sebastian Pigott as Bruce Pierce;[64]Phillip Forest Lewitski asDavid Lane;[64]Odessa Young as Zillah Craig;[63] George Tchortov as Gary Yarbrough;[56]Victor Slezak asRichard Butler, founder ofAryan Nations;[56]Daniel Doheny as Walter West,[65] also assassinated by members of The Order;[66] Matias Lucas as Tony Torres (based on Tom Martinez);[62] Chantal Perron as Jean Craig;[62] andMarc Maron, in acameo as Berg.[63]Jude Law,[60]Tye Sheridan,[67] andJurnee Smollett also star,[63] incomposite FBI roles. The film was directed byJustin Kurzel,[54][64] with a screenplay written byZach Baylin.[67]
In the words of Berg — a martyred saint here, striking a stark contrast withEric Bogosian's fictionalization inTalk Radio — 'you have to have someone to blame for your life'.
But my knowledge of the events was mostly informed by Oliver Stone's movie,Talk Radio,…
One of them, Richard Butler (Victor Slezak), is the white nationalist who founded the Aryan Nations, the neo-Nazi cult that has its compound nearby.
…and its violentapotheosis in a small cadre called the Order.
ACT's fourth production of its 1988 Mainstage Season will be the world premiere ofGod's Country, a play bySteven Dietz which focuses upon awhite supremacist terrorist group.
…Zach Baylin wrote the screenplay based onThe Silent Brotherhood, the book by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt that chronicles the escalating crimes of the titular white supremist domestic terror group.
Terry interrogates Torres and eventually gets him to crack in a holding cell.
…a horrific slaying that ultimately earns the perpetratorsDavid Lane (Phillip Forest Lewitski) andBruce Pierce (Sebastian Pigott) hundreds of years behind bars.
…The Order killed West, an active member of the Aryan Nations Church…they feared he was leaking information about their splinter neo-Nazi sect.
James Dye said members of The Order decided to kill Walter E. West because he openly discussed the group's illegal activities.
