The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America’s Violent Anti-Government Militia Movement (v.2)

496 Pages·1995·3.57 MB·English

by  FLYNN

The Silent
Brotherhood
The Chilling Inside Story of
America's Violent Anti-Government
Militia Movement
CSSBD
Kevin Flynn
and
Gary Gerhardt
©
A SIGNET BOOK
RobertJay"Robbie"Mathews.3
tcenteri,withbrothersGranr, II.
andLee.7.onthe porchof
hishome inMarfa.Texas.His
parentshad planned10raise the
boysinthesmalltown butthe
failure ofthe family'sappliance
businessforced amove to
Phoenix.There. Robbie.at
age II,joined theJohn Birch
Societyand beganhis life-long
involvementwith theradical
right. (Photocourtesyof Una
Mathews).
Afterreceivingamisdemeanorconvictionforalax protest,Mathews
movedtoWashingtonstateand boughtsomewoodedpropertyoutside
MetalineFallswherehelivedinadouble-widetrailerhomeand gaineda
reputationasahard-workingman.(PhotobyGaryGerhardt).
Itwasduringvisits10RichardButler'sChurchofJesusChristChristian
Aryan NationsoutsideHayden Lake,Idaho,that Mathewsmelsomeofthe
men who laterformed thecore oftheSilent Brotherhood.(PhotobyKevin
Flynn).
Threeof Richard Butler'sfollowers(left,DenverParmenter,center,Gary
Yarbrough,right,Randy Duey)who laterjoinedwith Mathewsare pictured
here,surroundingthepodium,asButlerspeakstoacrowdgatheredatan
Aryan Nationsrally inSpokane,WashingtoninJune, 1983.(Photoby
Vince Musil.
Surroundedby FBISWATlearns for36hoursararemoteisland
hideout inWashington'sPugetSound,Mathewsengagedina
fierce machine-gunbaulebeforetheauthoritiesburnedthe
housetothegroundwith Mathewsinit. (FBI phOIO)
Therewas noAryanWorldCongressheld atPastorButler'scompoundin
1985due tothe federal investigationoftheSilentBrotherhoodfollowing
amassiveracketeeringindictment. But, inJuly, 1986,theannualevent
resumed,drawingright-wingactivistsfrom acrossthe nation, including
Mathews' widowand son. Here,thenext generationsalutesaburning
crossduringtheCongress. lAP/WideWorld Photos)
Robert Mathews.pointingangrilyatademonstrator,agreed10help Pastor
Butlerwith securityathisSpokanerally.Byboldlyconfrontingananti
racist group, Mathewsattractedtheattentionand respect ofright-wing
sympathizers.(PhotobyJohn Kaplan).
BruceCarrollPierce.
left.herewith his
brotherGreg, was
introducedtotheracist
theologyofChristian
Identitysoon after
movingtoMontana.He
melRobert Mathewsat
Butler'sChurchand
engagedindiscussions
about howtoadvance
theright-wingcause.
(PhotocourtesyofPierce
......"..... . family).
GaryYarbrough learned
of(heAryanNations
compoundwhileserving
limeinprison. Upon his
release.hemoved toIdaho
withhiswifeandchildren
andsoon joined Richard
Butter'ssecurityforce.
Here.inmilitaryfatigues,
hejoinsDenver KuKlux
KlansmanDavidLaneina
searchforasuspected
intruder.(AP,WideWorld
PhOIOS).
IIwasat"thebarracks,"the nameMathewsand his friendsgavetoa
two-storymetal shedon hisproperly,that heandeightothermen look
anoathin 1983,inacandlelight ceremony,towork silently,
underground,tofund the radicalright-wingmovement.(Photoby
KevinFlynn).
Inaccordwith hisoath.Mathewsrobbedabank
inSeattleand showedupatZillahCraig'shome
carryingatrick-or-crealbagfilledwith$25.952.
(PhotocourtesyofZillah Craig).
Mathewsand Craigsoonbecamelovers.and inJanuary. 1984.she
waspregnantwithhisfirstnaturalchild,Meanwhile. Mathews' gang
successfullyrobbedarmoredtrucksinMarch andApril andgrew with new
members.(PhotocourtesyofZillahCraig).
Inordertoenergizetheirracistunderground, theSilentBrotherhood
targetedAlan Berg.aJewishradiotalk showhost whoroutinely denounced
right-winggroupsonhisprogram.asitsfirstassassinationvictim.Hewas
killedinhisdrivewayinJune. 1984.(PhotobyLynAlweis,TheDenver
Post).
The SilentBrotherhoodused adozenmen tostagea$3.8millionrobbery
ofaBrink'sCompanyarmoredtruck inJuly, 1984. Leavingbehinda
handgunatthesceneofthecrime.Mathewsinadvertentlysetthe FBIhot
onthetrail ofthegang.(PhotobytheUkiahDailyJournal).
Contents
Preface ix
List of Main Characters and Organizations xi
Prologue: The Underground 15
1: Robbie, the All-American Boy 27
2: Gathering Aryans, the Covenant People 64
3: Establishing the White American Bastion 95
4: The Turn to Crime 128
5: Enter the Zionist Occupation Government 168
6: Alan Berg: The Man You Love to Hate 209
7: Brink's and the $3,800,000 War Chest 251
8: Survivalism: The Man Who Ate the Dog 291
9: Judas Arrives on American Airlines 356
10: Blood, Soil, and Honor 407
Epilogue: "Blood Will Flow" 450
Bibliography 474
Acknowledgments 476
Index 479
Preface
Comfortably secure Americans are used to thinking of ter-
rorism as something that carries a foreign dateline. But the
bombing of the federal office building in Oklahoma City in
April 1995—and the suspicion that an army veteran of the
Persian Gulf War may be the perpetrator of that deadliest
act of terrorism on U.S. soil—will erase forever the false
notion that this threat comes from beyond our shores.
Home-grown terrorists have long scarred America's
landscape with guns and bombs. From our biggest metrop-
olises to the heartland cities, these true believers have
struck. When they surface, their acts give us a glimpse into
a shadowy world of fear. Often with political aims, they
target their weapons at individuals and institutions they be-
lieve are conspiring against the true America and its sacred
Constitution.
To prepare for possible battle with a government they see
as their enemy, seemingly ordinary citizens have enlisted
themselves in paramilitary training. Such a group was the
Silent Brotherhood, a private guerrilla army with the goal of
launching a terror and sabotage campaign against what they
called the Zionist Occupation Government. In the shorthand
of the American media, the gang later became known as
The Order. In the mid-1980s, it launched a campaign of rob-
beries, assassination, sabotage, and terrorism that brought
nearly $4 million in stolen loot into their treasury. Its mem-
bers gunned down Jewish talk show host Alan Berg in
Denver in 1984 to silence his over-the-air railings against
their cause. They amassed an impressive arsenal of weaponry,