The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
Encyclopedia
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a radical Christian Identity
organization formed in 1971 in the small community of Elijah
in southern Missouri
, United States
.
James Ellison
, who was jailed for a period of time along with his 'high priest' Kerry Noble in federal prison. Robert G. Millar became one of Ellison's spiritual advisers, and was also the founder of Elohim City. Ellison was also mentored by Richard Girnt Butler
of the Aryan Nations
and Robert Miles, founder of The Mountain Church in Cohoctah, Michigan. Both extreme right leaders taught and practiced the theology of Christian Identity, a religion which the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) still has on its watch list as an 'extremist religion'. Ellison had very close ties to the Ku Klux Klan
and the Northern Idaho group, Aryan Nations, in Hayden, Idaho
, led by Richard Butler, who was described as "the glue of the Aryan Nations movement in the Northwest, if not the country" by the supervisor of the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. Miles had a very active prison ministry and newsletter, relating mostly to the violent white Aryan groups, of which there are many, most notably, the Aryan Brotherhood
. After Ellison was released from prison, he moved to Elohim City, where he married Millar's granddaughter.
Ellison, Noble, and the entire Council of Elders at CSA were deeply influenced and mentored by many outside sources. It was this nine man council that deliberated on the spiritual meaning and direction of CSA activities.
operations. The group strongly believed in white supremacy
, and was strongly anti-Semitic. Like other prominent anti-Semitic conspiracy groups, they referred to the United States Government as ZOG, for Zionist Occupied Government. The military leader, who used the name Randall Rader during his stay at CSA, left the group in a rift with Ellison and joined the newly forming group The Order
in Idaho. The CSA professed that the United States government would dissolve from its own corruption, whereas The Order advocated revolution.
, would negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the siege and later prosecute CSA members. CSA assassins would monitor the homes of their targets and actually practice mock assassinations of the targets with scoped rifles and even practiced attacks in a mock "Combat City". The perimeter of the CSA compound had 100, 200, and 300 yards (274.3 m) indicator plates nailed to trees to allow the defenders to adjust their sights accordingly to engage attackers. The central rallying point in the event of attack was a concrete bunk house that housed the communications radios next to the 95 feet (29 m) tower, which itself, was constructed for defense. The perimeter of the compound had built-in bunkers for one to three men and each was numbered as a post and assigned to individuals as an 'area of responsibility'.
Some of the weapons the group used were purchased through a member's federal firearms license, though much of their arsenal was stolen. The line infantryman carried a Ruger Mini-14 .223 Remington
rifle. As in the early days in the Marine Corps, the squads were set up in four man fire teams. One man in the fire team carried a Heckler and Koch Model 91 rifle in .308 caliber. These had been modified via a technique which the organization sold to 'brother groups', converting the rifle to an illegal selective fire
weapon (capable of firing either single shots, or on full-auto). The Elite "A" Team had black clothing and some fairly sophisticated weapons such as, the .22 caliber Ruger target pistol fitted with an integral silencer, and several MAC-10
submachineguns in both 9 mm and .45 ACP, also with attached suppressors. These men trained in the covert aspects of military action, and were to be the core of the defense initiative.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) later determined that CSAL had obtained 155 Krugerrand
s, one live light antitank rocket, 94 long arms, 30 handguns, 35 sawed-off shotguns and machine guns, one heavy machine gun, and a quantity of C-4 explosives.
In 1983, CSA member William Thomas accompanying Richard Wayne Snell and Steven Scott
attempted to dynamite a natural gas pipeline, without success.
The CSA also had links with other radical organizations, including the Aryan Brotherhood
, The Mountain Church, and The Order
, all dangerous white supremacist organizations which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Government. Many of their members were seen traveling in and out of the compound, and after a search of the compound, several stolen vehicles including one belonging to The Order were recovered.
Things began to go downhill for the organization after an alleged member, Richard Wayne Snell, was arrested for killing an African-American police officer. Snell was later tied to the killing of a gun store owner in 1981, obtaining and using the very same gun, the serial number of which had been removed by the CSA armorer, Kent Yates, who himself was arrested on Friday, July 13, 1984, on an outstanding warrant out of New Mexico
for firearms violations in Farmington
. He was later also charged and convicted of weapons manufacture and modification for the CSA.
After the incident with Snell the FBI began hunting for ways to infiltrate the CSA compound and stop the organization which they deemed dangerous. They finally obtained warrants under Arkansas state law to arrest Ellison, the leader of the CSA, for multiple firearms violations. (The FBI later claimed that at all times they had an 'inside man' in the CSA.)
positioned around 300 federal agents in Elijah. It was necessary to keep the operation a secret, but this was not easy in the small community. However, the ATF agents took advantage of Elijah being a common destination for anglers, the agents pretended to be fishermen and registered at different motels near the various fishing destinations. On the morning of April 19, 1985, they moved in and surrounded the CSA compound, putting some in fishing boats to seal off the lakeside area of the Compound. There they waited, until a few hours later when two guards emerged from the compound. They appeared to be unaware of the presence of the officers, and walked towards a sniper hold-out, until finally an officer yelled commands to return to the compound, with which the guards complied. Later, an unnamed individual emerged from the compound and talked with the federal agents and reported to Ellison that the FBI were outside to negotiate his surrender and the emptying of the Compound. Ellison emerged later. FBI agents had expected he would not go down without a firefight, but the FBI negotiators convinced him that the CSA would certainly lose if they had one. They convinced him that they wanted peaceful cooperation, and he asked that his spiritual adviser, assumed to be Millar, come to the compound to instruct him. The individual was flown to the area and seemed eager to convince Ellison to stand down, understanding that otherwise there would be certain bloodshed. They allowed the individual into the compound, and the FBI instructed him to call in every 30 minutes to report how negotiations were going. The date of the siege, coincidentally, was the 210th anniversary of "the shot heard round the world
" from the Revolutionary War. Eight years later in 1993, this was the date that the FBI chose to end the standoff in Waco
, after specifically having studied the outcome of the CSA standoff. Two years after that, in 1995, this was the date chosen by Timothy McVeigh
, in protest against the Waco incident among others, to bomb the Federal building
in Oklahoma City.
Attorney Asa Hutchinson, who would later go on to successfully prosecute Ellison and other leaders of the CSA, put on an FBI flak jacket and entered the compound to personally join negotiations, ultimately leading to a peaceful conclusion to the armed stand-off. After several calls requesting more time, early on the morning of the 4th day of the siege, Ellison, his command, and all of the males in the compound emerged, and surrendered themselves to authorities. Women and children were earlier evacuated to nearby motel housing at government expense.
charged Ellison and most of his leadership with illegal weapon possession, Ellison faced the maximum 20 years prison sentence having been convicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
charges. However, Ellison was released in 1987 in a deal where he testified against the leader and six senior members of the Aryan Nations
, rumored to have been strengthened by Robert Miles during his time in federal prison. (Most certainly all of the Aryan groups were embraced by Miles' prison ministry newsletters, published at The Mountain Church in Cohoctaw, Michigan.) All seven men were arrested and indicted on charges of sedition
. The jury found all the defendants not guilty on all charges saying that they 'did not find the federal witness credible'. Upon his release from federal prison, he moved to Elohim City.
Richard Wayne Snell, the man who shot and killed both the police officer and a pawn shop owner, was sentenced to death by lethal injection, carried out on 19 April 1995.
was tied to the 'New Day' teachings of Elohim City. No proof, however, has ever been established. Elohim City was assembled for the purpose of gathering 'prophets of the New Day'. Robert Millar envisioned himself to be the 'Shepherd of Shepherds' traveling to numerous alternate societies, many of which were and are still communes. His ambition was to unite these 'underground' organizations. He appeared several times at the Padanaram Settlement
, in southern Indiana
, but contrary to reports, members of the Padanaram Settlement did not concur with the radical calling of either Millar or Ellison who made two appearances there. 'The Valley' was and still is known more for being a cultural hub for artists and philosophers and until roughly 2003, it operated the largest deciduous hardwood sawmill in five states. Timothy McVeigh
was tied to several radical religious organizations, however, McVeigh was not yet exposed to the charismatic messages of these groups in his early teen youth and was just joining the Army when the CSA compound was besieged and broken up. Also, the Oklahoma City bombing occurred very close to the 10-year anniversary of the siege of the CSA compound. But the most plausible link is that Richard Wayne Snell, who was executed on the day of the bombing, had planned a similar attack on the Murrah building in 1983 after becoming upset with the Internal Revenue Service
. Additionally, Snell was heard taunting jailers that something drastic would happen on the day of his execution. It is plausible that McVeigh may have been mentored by Snell since Snell frequented gun shows, a CSA practice until shortly before Snell made active contact with the group that he is documented to have been a member of. By itself, that is understandable since Snell hid out at the CSA compound between pawn shop robberies. He did not, however, reside on the property. CSA considered him to be a 'Patron'. Shortly after McVeigh was released from the Army he became very active at gun shows.
The single incident of CSA involvement, the robbery of a pawn shop in Springfield, Missouri, was in fact, foiled by a CSA member on the orders of Jim Ellison, unknown to Wayne Snell, who headed up the plan. It was in regard to this event in which Ellison saw a "sign from God" which he interpreted to mean that they should not carry out the attempt; NOT the attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Bldg.)
The death knell of CSA was their attempt to kill FBI special agent Jack Knox, the lead agent assigned to investigate the group; Asa Hutchinson, the federal prosecutor; and the Federal judge who presided over the affair that brought about the eventual action against Gordon Kahl
, a tax protester and member of the Posse Comitatus, by federal agents at Leonard Ginter's home (affectionately called 'The Bunker', due to its construction from concrete covered with earth). Ellison revered Kahl as a hero. Like McVeigh, incidentally, Kahl was a decorated American soldier; Kahl earned a Silver Star in the Korean War
, and McVeigh a Bronze Star in the first Gulf War
– Desert Storm.
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
organization formed in 1971 in the small community of Elijah
Elijah, Missouri
Elijah, Missouri is an unincorporated community in eastern Ozark County, Missouri, United States. It is about twenty-two miles west of West Plains on Missouri Supplemental Route V just south of U.S. Route 160. It formerly had a post office with a ZIP code of 65642, but mail is now served from the...
in southern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Leadership
The founder of the CSA was polygamistPolygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
James Ellison
James Ellison (polygamist)
James Ellison former student at Lincoln Bible College, Lincoln, IL was a white supremacist leader from San Antonio, Texas who, in 1971, founded the radical organization The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. Ellison purchased a strip of land near Elijah, Arkansas to serve as his compound...
, who was jailed for a period of time along with his 'high priest' Kerry Noble in federal prison. Robert G. Millar became one of Ellison's spiritual advisers, and was also the founder of Elohim City. Ellison was also mentored by Richard Girnt Butler
Richard Girnt Butler
Richard Girnt Butler was an American aerospace engineer for Lockheed, who later became the leader of the Christian Identity white supremacist group Aryan Nations.-Biography:...
of the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
and Robert Miles, founder of The Mountain Church in Cohoctah, Michigan. Both extreme right leaders taught and practiced the theology of Christian Identity, a religion which the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) still has on its watch list as an 'extremist religion'. Ellison had very close ties to the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and the Northern Idaho group, Aryan Nations, in Hayden, Idaho
Hayden, Idaho
Hayden is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 9,159 at the 2000 census.- History :Hayden was once called "Hayden village." In 1955, it was incorporated as Hayden City...
, led by Richard Butler, who was described as "the glue of the Aryan Nations movement in the Northwest, if not the country" by the supervisor of the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. Miles had a very active prison ministry and newsletter, relating mostly to the violent white Aryan groups, of which there are many, most notably, the Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
. After Ellison was released from prison, he moved to Elohim City, where he married Millar's granddaughter.
Ellison, Noble, and the entire Council of Elders at CSA were deeply influenced and mentored by many outside sources. It was this nine man council that deliberated on the spiritual meaning and direction of CSA activities.
Purpose
The CSA was an organization which believed that doomsday was imminent, and the 250 acres (1 km²) compound that was set up in Elijah became a community for its members. There they trained their members in paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
operations. The group strongly believed in white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
, and was strongly anti-Semitic. Like other prominent anti-Semitic conspiracy groups, they referred to the United States Government as ZOG, for Zionist Occupied Government. The military leader, who used the name Randall Rader during his stay at CSA, left the group in a rift with Ellison and joined the newly forming group The Order
The Order (group)
The Order, also known as the Brüder Schweigen or Silent Brotherhood, was an organization active in the United States between 1983 and 1984...
in Idaho. The CSA professed that the United States government would dissolve from its own corruption, whereas The Order advocated revolution.
Operations
A U.S. Attorney, Asa HutchinsonAsa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
, would negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the siege and later prosecute CSA members. CSA assassins would monitor the homes of their targets and actually practice mock assassinations of the targets with scoped rifles and even practiced attacks in a mock "Combat City". The perimeter of the CSA compound had 100, 200, and 300 yards (274.3 m) indicator plates nailed to trees to allow the defenders to adjust their sights accordingly to engage attackers. The central rallying point in the event of attack was a concrete bunk house that housed the communications radios next to the 95 feet (29 m) tower, which itself, was constructed for defense. The perimeter of the compound had built-in bunkers for one to three men and each was numbered as a post and assigned to individuals as an 'area of responsibility'.
Some of the weapons the group used were purchased through a member's federal firearms license, though much of their arsenal was stolen. The line infantryman carried a Ruger Mini-14 .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...
rifle. As in the early days in the Marine Corps, the squads were set up in four man fire teams. One man in the fire team carried a Heckler and Koch Model 91 rifle in .308 caliber. These had been modified via a technique which the organization sold to 'brother groups', converting the rifle to an illegal selective fire
Selective fire
A selective fire firearm has at least one semi–automatic and one automatic mode, which is activated by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective fire weapons utilize burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in...
weapon (capable of firing either single shots, or on full-auto). The Elite "A" Team had black clothing and some fairly sophisticated weapons such as, the .22 caliber Ruger target pistol fitted with an integral silencer, and several MAC-10
MAC-10
The MAC-10 is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.-Design:The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings...
submachineguns in both 9 mm and .45 ACP, also with attached suppressors. These men trained in the covert aspects of military action, and were to be the core of the defense initiative.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) later determined that CSAL had obtained 155 Krugerrand
Krugerrand
The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. The coin, produced by the South African Mint, proved popular and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the gold coin market. The name itself is a compound of Kruger and rand, the South...
s, one live light antitank rocket, 94 long arms, 30 handguns, 35 sawed-off shotguns and machine guns, one heavy machine gun, and a quantity of C-4 explosives.
In 1983, CSA member William Thomas accompanying Richard Wayne Snell and Steven Scott
Steven Scott
Steven Scott is a shooter from Battle who won a gold medal in Commonwealth Games held from 3–14 October 2010 in Delhi, India.He won, with Stevan Walton, the men's double trap pairs event on 6 October 2010.-References:...
attempted to dynamite a natural gas pipeline, without success.
The CSA also had links with other radical organizations, including the Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
, The Mountain Church, and The Order
The Order
The Order can refer to:in comics* The Order , the name of two fictional comic-book superhero teams in the Marvel Comics universein computer and video games...
, all dangerous white supremacist organizations which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Government. Many of their members were seen traveling in and out of the compound, and after a search of the compound, several stolen vehicles including one belonging to The Order were recovered.
Things began to go downhill for the organization after an alleged member, Richard Wayne Snell, was arrested for killing an African-American police officer. Snell was later tied to the killing of a gun store owner in 1981, obtaining and using the very same gun, the serial number of which had been removed by the CSA armorer, Kent Yates, who himself was arrested on Friday, July 13, 1984, on an outstanding warrant out of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
for firearms violations in Farmington
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the city had a total population of 45,877 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas in New Mexico. The U.S...
. He was later also charged and convicted of weapons manufacture and modification for the CSA.
After the incident with Snell the FBI began hunting for ways to infiltrate the CSA compound and stop the organization which they deemed dangerous. They finally obtained warrants under Arkansas state law to arrest Ellison, the leader of the CSA, for multiple firearms violations. (The FBI later claimed that at all times they had an 'inside man' in the CSA.)
The siege: April 19, 1985
The ATFBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
positioned around 300 federal agents in Elijah. It was necessary to keep the operation a secret, but this was not easy in the small community. However, the ATF agents took advantage of Elijah being a common destination for anglers, the agents pretended to be fishermen and registered at different motels near the various fishing destinations. On the morning of April 19, 1985, they moved in and surrounded the CSA compound, putting some in fishing boats to seal off the lakeside area of the Compound. There they waited, until a few hours later when two guards emerged from the compound. They appeared to be unaware of the presence of the officers, and walked towards a sniper hold-out, until finally an officer yelled commands to return to the compound, with which the guards complied. Later, an unnamed individual emerged from the compound and talked with the federal agents and reported to Ellison that the FBI were outside to negotiate his surrender and the emptying of the Compound. Ellison emerged later. FBI agents had expected he would not go down without a firefight, but the FBI negotiators convinced him that the CSA would certainly lose if they had one. They convinced him that they wanted peaceful cooperation, and he asked that his spiritual adviser, assumed to be Millar, come to the compound to instruct him. The individual was flown to the area and seemed eager to convince Ellison to stand down, understanding that otherwise there would be certain bloodshed. They allowed the individual into the compound, and the FBI instructed him to call in every 30 minutes to report how negotiations were going. The date of the siege, coincidentally, was the 210th anniversary of "the shot heard round the world
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
" from the Revolutionary War. Eight years later in 1993, this was the date that the FBI chose to end the standoff in Waco
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
, after specifically having studied the outcome of the CSA standoff. Two years after that, in 1995, this was the date chosen by Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
, in protest against the Waco incident among others, to bomb the Federal building
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
in Oklahoma City.
Attorney Asa Hutchinson, who would later go on to successfully prosecute Ellison and other leaders of the CSA, put on an FBI flak jacket and entered the compound to personally join negotiations, ultimately leading to a peaceful conclusion to the armed stand-off. After several calls requesting more time, early on the morning of the 4th day of the siege, Ellison, his command, and all of the males in the compound emerged, and surrendered themselves to authorities. Women and children were earlier evacuated to nearby motel housing at government expense.
Charges
U.S. Attorney Asa HutchinsonAsa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
charged Ellison and most of his leadership with illegal weapon possession, Ellison faced the maximum 20 years prison sentence having been convicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
charges. However, Ellison was released in 1987 in a deal where he testified against the leader and six senior members of the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
, rumored to have been strengthened by Robert Miles during his time in federal prison. (Most certainly all of the Aryan groups were embraced by Miles' prison ministry newsletters, published at The Mountain Church in Cohoctaw, Michigan.) All seven men were arrested and indicted on charges of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
. The jury found all the defendants not guilty on all charges saying that they 'did not find the federal witness credible'. Upon his release from federal prison, he moved to Elohim City.
Richard Wayne Snell, the man who shot and killed both the police officer and a pawn shop owner, was sentenced to death by lethal injection, carried out on 19 April 1995.
Possible ties to the Oklahoma City bombing
There are several claims that the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombingOklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
was tied to the 'New Day' teachings of Elohim City. No proof, however, has ever been established. Elohim City was assembled for the purpose of gathering 'prophets of the New Day'. Robert Millar envisioned himself to be the 'Shepherd of Shepherds' traveling to numerous alternate societies, many of which were and are still communes. His ambition was to unite these 'underground' organizations. He appeared several times at the Padanaram Settlement
Padanaram Settlement
Padanaram Settlement is an intentional community in the U.S. state of Indiana.It is located on nearly in the wooded countryside of Martin County in southern Indiana. Founded in 1966 by Daniel Wright, his wife Lois and a few friends, it has grown from 86 acres to its present size. It shares its...
, in southern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, but contrary to reports, members of the Padanaram Settlement did not concur with the radical calling of either Millar or Ellison who made two appearances there. 'The Valley' was and still is known more for being a cultural hub for artists and philosophers and until roughly 2003, it operated the largest deciduous hardwood sawmill in five states. Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
was tied to several radical religious organizations, however, McVeigh was not yet exposed to the charismatic messages of these groups in his early teen youth and was just joining the Army when the CSA compound was besieged and broken up. Also, the Oklahoma City bombing occurred very close to the 10-year anniversary of the siege of the CSA compound. But the most plausible link is that Richard Wayne Snell, who was executed on the day of the bombing, had planned a similar attack on the Murrah building in 1983 after becoming upset with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
. Additionally, Snell was heard taunting jailers that something drastic would happen on the day of his execution. It is plausible that McVeigh may have been mentored by Snell since Snell frequented gun shows, a CSA practice until shortly before Snell made active contact with the group that he is documented to have been a member of. By itself, that is understandable since Snell hid out at the CSA compound between pawn shop robberies. He did not, however, reside on the property. CSA considered him to be a 'Patron'. Shortly after McVeigh was released from the Army he became very active at gun shows.
The single incident of CSA involvement, the robbery of a pawn shop in Springfield, Missouri, was in fact, foiled by a CSA member on the orders of Jim Ellison, unknown to Wayne Snell, who headed up the plan. It was in regard to this event in which Ellison saw a "sign from God" which he interpreted to mean that they should not carry out the attempt; NOT the attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Bldg.)
The death knell of CSA was their attempt to kill FBI special agent Jack Knox, the lead agent assigned to investigate the group; Asa Hutchinson, the federal prosecutor; and the Federal judge who presided over the affair that brought about the eventual action against Gordon Kahl
Gordon Kahl
Gordon Wendell Kahl is best known for his involvement in two fatal shootouts with law enforcement officers in the United States in 1983....
, a tax protester and member of the Posse Comitatus, by federal agents at Leonard Ginter's home (affectionately called 'The Bunker', due to its construction from concrete covered with earth). Ellison revered Kahl as a hero. Like McVeigh, incidentally, Kahl was a decorated American soldier; Kahl earned a Silver Star in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and McVeigh a Bronze Star in the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
– Desert Storm.
- Note: See the book by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck: "American Terrorist"
Popular culture
- The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the LordThe Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (album)The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the Electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released in November, 1985...
is the title of a 1985 album by pioneering English Industrial band Cabaret VoltaireCabaret Voltaire (band)Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
. It is wholly unrelated to the CSA--in fact, when it was released in 1985 as a vinyl 12" record, it merely bore the title "The Arm of the Lord," which bassist Stephen MallinderStephen MallinderStephen William Mallinder was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, Sassi and Loco and the Ku-Ling Bros. While in Cabaret Voltaire he contributed lead vocals, bass and occasional keyboards.-Biography:...
originally called "The Long Arm of the Lord," a play on the phrase "the long arm of the law." Content on the album includes samples from a Charles Manson interview, a Marine rifle instructor and several audio clips used in the previous album "The Crackdown." In addition, the content of some songs, especially and including "Whip Blow," concern abstract descriptions of a psyche dissolving ("I feel my head / I'm coming apart / A single move could put me out / Got soft skin running through my fingers / Soft skin, glassy eyes / Coming apart") After the advent of Compact Discs, the expanded nature of the format permitted the inclusion of the "Drinking Gasoline," including the insomniac ballad "Sleepwalking" and was renamed The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the LordThe Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (album)The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the Electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released in November, 1985...
. The title is an unfortunate coincidence. - CSA and The Order are the subjects of the movie 'Into the Heartland'.
- The CSA is referenced in the fiction novel Rainbow Six written by Tom Clancy. In chapter five "Ramifications" the organization is cited as an example of how an ideological group may use criminal activity to support itself.
- Jessica Stern wrote extensively about Kerry Noble in her book, Terror in the Name of God, recounting facts from an interview she did with Noble.
- Jim Ellison is in the 1984 documentary The Jupiter Menace where he tours 'Zarabeth Horeb', a CSA compound.