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'Aryan Nations (AN)' is an international white supremacist, Neo-Nazi organization that is affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. It was founded in the 1970s by Richard Girnt Butler as an arm of the Christian Identity group Church of Jesus Christ-Christian.

Contents

History

Subgroups

Se also

References

External links

History

Its origin lies in the teachings of Wesley Swift, a significant figure in the early Christian Identity movement. Swift combined British Israelism, extreme antisemitism, and political militancy. He founded his own church in California in the mid 1940s where he could preach this ideology. In addition, he had a daily radio broadcast in California during the 1950s and 60s. In 1957, the name of his church was changed to the Church of Jesus Christ-Christian, which is used today by Aryan Nations churches.^[1]
From the 1970s until 2001 the headquarters of the AN was in a 20 acre (81,000 m²) compound at Hayden Lake, Idaho.¹ There were a number of state chapters, only loosely tied to the main organization. The group ran an annual "World Congress of Aryan Nations" at Hayden Lake for both AN adherents and other right-wing groups.¹
Some in the AN openly debated a plan to forcibly take five northwestern states - Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming - from the United States government in order to establish an Aryan homeland.
In September 2000 the Southern Poverty Law Center won a $6.3 million judgment against the Aryan Nations from an Idaho jury who awarded punitive and compensatory damages to a woman and her son who were attacked by Aryan Nations guards.^[2] The lawsuit stemmed from the July 1998 attack when Aryan Nations security guards in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho shot at Victoria Keenan and her son.^[3] Bullets struck their car several times then the car crashed and Aryan member held the Keenans at gunpoint.³ As a result of the judgement, Richard Butler turned over the 20-acre compound to the Keenans and the Keenans in turn sold the property to a philanthropist donated the land to North Idaho College, which designated it a "peace park."^3[4] Currently while tours are occasionally given on the property, cows use it for pasture.⁴ In February 2001, the group's Hayden Lake compound and intellectual property including the names "Aryan Nations" and "Church of Jesus Christ Christian" were transferred to the Keenans.³ In the fall of 2000, fellow Sandpoint, Idaho millionaire Vincent Bertollini provided Butler with a new house in Hayden, Idaho.
Until 1998 the leadership of the AN remained firmly in the hands of Butler. But by that year he was over eighty and had been in poor health for some time, so at the annual "World Congress", Neuman Britton was appointed as the group's new leader. In August 2001, however, Butler appointed Harold Ray Redfeairn from Ohio, who had been agitating for control since the mid-1990s. Shortly thereafter, Redfeairn and August Kreis, III, propaganda minister of Aryan Nations, led a splinter group away from Butler and was expelled from the organization, but a few months later Redfeairn returned to an alliance with Butler.¹ Redfeairn died in October of 2003. Butler died of heart failure in September 2004.¹
At the time of his death Aryan Nations had 200 members, Butler's World Congress in 2002 drew fewer than 100 people, and when he ran for mayor, he lost by about 2,100 votes to 50.^[4]

There are two main Nations factions. The first, led by August Kreis III joined with Charles John Juba to continue one faction of Aryan Nations.¹ In 2002 Kreis mmoved Aryan Nations World Headquarters to a ten-acre compound in rural Potter County, Pennsylvania, which was host to the 2002 Aryan Nations World Congress.^[6] They also held an Aryan Nations World Congress in July 2000. Juba resigned in March of 2005 announcing his successor Kreis as the group's new leader with a headquarters located in Lexington, SC. In 2005 he received media attention by seeking a Aryan Nations-al Qaeda alliance, similar to the Nazi-Islamic alliance attempt.^[7] Commenting on Kreis, CNN said "With his long beard and potbelly, August Kreis looks more like a washed up member of ZZ Top than an aspiring revolutionary."⁷
The other faction that claims to have remained loyal to Butler's wishes upon his death, and its members have continued to call themselves "The Church of Jesus Christ Christian". They are led by a council of 3 men and headquartered in Lincoln, Alabama. The leader is Jonathan Williams. They have held a Congress each year since the passing of Richard Butler, and have used these congresses to forge alliances and social networks with various other white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan.

Subgroups

Like many other extreme racist groups, AN has produced many small, transitory subgroups. Bob Mathews formed a group called The Order, which committed a number of violent crimes, including murder.¹ Their mission was to bring about a race war. Dennis McGiffen, who also had ties to the AN, formed a cell called The New Order, based on Mathews' group.¹ The members were arrested before they could follow through on their violent plans.
A relatively new tenet among Christian Identity believers justifies the use of violence in order to punish violators of God's law, as interpreted by Christian Identity ministers and adherents. Christian Identity followers engaging in such behavior are referred to as Phineas Priests or members of the Phineas Priesthood, though they usually seem to act alone.¹
Non-aligned members of AN later convicted of serious crimes include Chevie Kehoe, who was convicted of three homicides, conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property also spent some time at the AN compound. Buford O. Furrow, Jr., the man accused of the August 10, 1999, shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, California, and the murder of Filipino American postal worker, Joseph Ileto also spent some time at the AN compound working as a security guard.^[8]
On August 12, 2007 a Mexican-American was beaten by several white males who claimed they were part of the Aryan Nations.^[9] According to police, "the assault was committed by between six and 10 people, including four teenage girls."⁹

Se also

Aryan Brotherhood

References

1. Extremism in America: Aryan Nations/Church of Jesus Christ Christian
2. Attorney Morris Dees pioneer in using 'damage litigation' to fight hate groups
3. Keenan v. Aryan Nations
4. Richard G. Butler, 86, Dies; Founder of the Aryan Nations
5. Richard G. Butler, 86, Dies; Founder of the Aryan Nations
6. Aryan Nations - About Us
7. An unholy alliance: Aryan Nation leader reaches out to al Qaeda
8. L.A. shooting suspect surrenders in Las Vegas
9. First arrest made in West beating incident

'Further reading'

★ ''On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left'' by Dennis Tourish, and Tim Wohlforth, 2000.

External links

★ Aryan Nations website - Led by August Kreis III

★ Aryan Nations website

★ Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online ADL Article

★ Keenan vs Aryan Nations summary of a lawsuit against the Aryan Nations for its violent activities.