Michael Wayne Ryan (August 3, 1948 – May 24, 2015) was an American convicted murderer,

Christian Identity Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity) is an interpretation of Christianity which advocates the belief that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic nations, or Aryan people and people of kindred blood ...

cult leader In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

, and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

Crimes

Ryan was the leader of a small, racist, anti-government group that occupied a compound near

Rulo, Nebraska Rulo is a village in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 144 at the 2020 census. History Rulo was laid out in 1857. It was named for Charlie Rouleau, the original owner of the town site. In 1933, the foundation for ...

in the early 1980s. The group had loose ties to the

Posse Comitatus The ''posse comitatus'' (from the Latin for "power of the county/community/guard"), frequently shortened to posse, is in common law a group of people mobilized by the conservator of peace – typically a reeve, sheriff, chief, or another speci ...

, with links to the

movement. Some of the main teachings within the group revolved around supremacy of the white race,

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, the downfall and hatred of "

race traitors Race traitor is a pejorative reference to a person who is perceived as supporting attitudes or positions thought to be against the supposed interests or well-being of that person's own race. The term is the source of the name of a quarterly magazi ...

drug addicts Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

and non-European-descended American citizens, and a general distrust of all established earthly authority, especially governments and law enforcement. One of the group's core messages was, more or less, that the white race was "chosen" by God and all other human beings are the children of Satan, via the so-called “

serpent seed The doctrine of the serpent seed, also known as the dual-seed or the two-seedline doctrine, is a controversial and fringe Christian religious belief which explains the biblical account of the fall of man by stating that the Serpent mated with Eve ...

” theory. Many of the recruited followers were disillusioned farmers from the local area with seemingly nothing to lose, who were easily influenced after having had lost money or property due to economic strains at the time. For months, he and his followers committed burglaries under the cover of night reselling the items to financially support the group. They stockpiled weapons and supplies believing they would be needed during an imminent battle of

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

, assumed to occur in the form of a

race war An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...

. Ryan was arrested in 1985 after reports and a criminal investigation indicated that he had abused and killed five-year-old Luke Stice and later killed fellow group member James Thimm (age 25) after he had tortured the latter for several days, beating him, whipping him, then shooting off his fingertips, skinning him alive, breaking his legs, and raping him with a shovel and pickaxe before finally stomping him to death. Ryan was tried to a jury in Omaha, Nebraska after a change of venue. The jury convicted him of

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and the court sentenced Ryan to death on April 10, 1986, and October 16, 1986, respectively. He claimed to be in direct contact with

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

and vowed to spend his days in prison rewriting the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, but he later recanted both statements.

Sources

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References

External links

''State v. Ryan'', Supreme Court of Nebraska, 1989

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michael W. 1948 births 2015 deaths American rapists American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American people convicted of torture American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to death American white supremacists People convicted of murder by Nebraska Prisoners sentenced to death by Nebraska Prisoners who died in Nebraska detention Christian Identity Cult leaders