The Order (group)

The Order , also known as the Silent Brothers and Silent Brotherhood , was a racist and neo-Nazi organization that was active in the United States between 1983 and 1984. The organization, which was close to the White Supremacy movement and acted terrorist , is best known for the murder of radio presenter Alan Berg (1984).

ideology

The main aim of The Order was a revolution against the United States government , which the group of prominent Jews believed would have been infiltrated. This conspiracy theory is known as the Zionist Occupied Government . The name comes from William Luther Pierce's novel The Turner Diaries , which formed the basis of a large number of other White Power groups. The Order's goals also included establishing a free state in the northwestern United States (now known as the Northwest Territorial Imperative) from which all Jews and non-whites would be exiled.

history

Beginnings

The Order was founded in September 1983 by Robert Jay Mathews on his farm near Metaline Falls . The nine other founding members were Randy Evans, Gary Yarborough, Bruce Pierce, Denver Parmenter, Frank Silva, Richard Scutari, David Eden Lane , Randy Duey and David Tate. Matthews had been a Mormon baptized since high school, and at that time founded the Sons of Liberty, an anti-communist militia within the survivalists of the Mormon movement.

activities

In order to achieve their goals, The Order began by committing a variety of brutal crimes. The first action was a robbery on a sex shop , but the group only brought in 400 US dollars . After that, however, the actions became more effective. The organization robbed some banks and bombed a theater and synagogue . The Order also acted as a counterfeiting ring and robbed several money transporters, with the biggest coup being the capture of 3.8 million US dollars in Ukiah .

The Order drew up death lists with their enemies. On June 18, 1984, the Jewish liberal radio host Alan Berg was killed by Bruce Pierce and other members of The Order. Berg was the second name on the death list.

In December 1984, police raided the home of Robert Jay Mathews on Whidbey Island , who refused to surrender. In the following exchange of fire, Mathews was shot and burned in his home. Mathews has since been revered as a hero by sections of the White Power movement .

Condemnation

Ten members were charged and convicted of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). In a further process three other members were sentenced, against the civil rights of Alan Berg to have violated. In fact, no member has been charged with murder. David Lane, the getaway car driver in Berg's murder, was sentenced to a total of 190 years in prison for racketeering , conspiracy and violating Berg's civil rights. He died in prison in 2007 and is considered a hero, political prisoner and martyr in the right-wing extremist scene . Bruce Pierce was sentenced to 252 years in prison for his involvement in Berg's murder and died of natural causes on August 16, 2010 in the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex at the age of 56. 14 other members were charged with sedition accused of civil liberties ( "sedition"), conspiracy and violations. 13 of them were released for lack of evidence.

According to a report by National Public Radio , some members of The Order are being detained under the tightened security conditions of the Communication Management Unit .

Theater / film

Berg's assassination and the subsequent trial formed the basis for the two plays God's Country (1988, Steven Dietz ) and Talk Radio (1987, Eric Bogosian ). The latter was made into a film by Oliver Stone in 1988 ( Talk Radio ). Other film adaptations were Betrayed (1988) by Constantin Costa-Gavras and The Order - Comradeship of Terror with William Baldwin and Peter Gallagher . The 1991 documentary Blood in the face gives an insight into the world of thought of the right-wing American scene.

literature

• Kevin Flynn, Gary Gerhardt: The Silent Brotherhood . Signet, 1990, ISBN 978-0-451-16786-6 .
• Thomas Martinez, John Guinther: The Brotherhood of Murder . iUniverse, 1999, ISBN 978-1-58348-580-4 .
• Morris Dees: Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat . Harper Perennial, 1997, ISBN 0-06-092789-5

Web links

• paranoia as patriotism on the website of the Nizkor Project (English)
• FBI dossier (PDF; English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} The Alliance and the Law , Southern Poverty Law Center . Spring 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 17, 2007.  
2. ^ Jury Told of Plan to Kill Radio Host (Subscription needed) , The New York Times . November 8, 1987. Retrieved August 25, 2007. 
3. ↑ 2 Linked to Aryan groups plead guilty in plot . New York Times
4. ^ Free the Order Rally , Southern Poverty Law Center . Spring 2007. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 17, 2007.  
5. ^ Death List Names Given to US Jury , New York Times . September 17, 1985. Retrieved August 25, 2007. 
6. ↑ Morris Dees, Steve Fiffer: Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi . Villard Books, 1993. S. xiiv
7. ↑ churchoftrueisrael.com ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ^ National Vanguard. ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. natall.com 
9. ^ Thomas J. Knudson: Trial Opens in Slaying of Radio Talk Show Host , New York Times . October 31, 1987. Retrieved August 25, 2007. 
10. ^ ^{A b c} Extremism in America: David Lane , Anti-Defamation League . Archived from the original on August 18, 2004 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 18, 2007.  
11. ^ The Denver Post , " Neo-Nazi gunman in Alan Berg's murder dies in prison ," by Howard Pankratz (August 17, 2010 - accessed that same day).
12. ↑ DATA & GRAPHICS: Population Of The Communications Management Units , Margot Williams and Alyson Hurt, NPR , March 3, 2011, accessed March 4 at npr.org.