The Order, also known as the (German for ''Brothers Keep Silent'' or ''Brothers' Silence''), Silent Brotherhood or less commonly known as the Aryan Resistance Movement, was a

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 ...

terrorist organization active in the United States between September 1983 and December 1984. The group raised funds via armed robbery. Ten members were tried and convicted for

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

, and two for their role in the 1984 murder of radio talk show host

Alan Berg Alan Harrison Berg (January 18, 1934 – June 18, 1984) was an American talk radio show host in Denver, Colorado. Born to a Jewish family, he had outspoken atheistic and liberal views and a confrontational interview style. Berg was murdered b ...

History

The Order was founded by

Robert Jay Mathews Robert Jay Mathews (January 16, 1953 – December 8, 1984) was an American neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi activist and the leader of The Order (white supremacist group), The Order, an American White supremacy, white supremacist militant group. He was ki ...

in late September 1983 at his farm near

Metaline, Washington Metaline is a town in Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 173 at the 2010 census. History The Pend Oreille River was deepened at Box Canyon in 1906, allowing navigation to Metaline. The Metaline Mine then started ...

. Reportedly, Mathews's farm was where the members trained. Mathews had previously formed the Sons of Liberty, an

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

militia mostly made up of Mormon survivalists, fundamentalists and associates of John Singer that had no connection to the historical American organization of the same name. A fundamental goal of The Order was revolution against the American government, which its members, and those of other white supremacist groups, believed to be controlled by a cabal of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

with internationalist and Jewish-racial loyalties, rather than loyalty to the American nation. The Order was named after, and partly modeled on, a fictional terrorist group in

William Luther Pierce William Luther Pierce III (September 11, 1933 – July 23, 2002) was an American neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and far-right political activist. For more than 30 years, he was one of the highest-profile individuals of the white nationalist movem ...

's novel ''

The Turner Diaries ''The Turner Diaries'' is a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. It depicts a violent revolution in the United States which leads to the overthrow of the federal government, a nuclear war, and, ...

''. The Order's goals included the establishment of a homeland (now the

Northwest Territorial Imperative The Northwest Territorial Imperative (often shortened to the Northwest Imperative or simply known as the Northwest Front) is a white separatist idea that has been popularized since the 1970s–80s by white nationalist, white supremacist, white se ...

) from which Jews and non-

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

s would be barred. They often referred to the

United States federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

as ''ZOG'', an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for

Zionist Occupied Government The Zionist occupation government, Zionist occupational government or Zionist-occupied government (ZOG), sometimes also referred to as the Jewish occupational government (JOG), is an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming Jews secretly contr ...

. Members of the Order included Randy Evans, Gary Yarborough, Bruce Pierce, Denver Parmenter, Frank DeSilva (also known as Frank Silva), Richard Scutari, David Lane, Randy Duey, and David Tate. The Order drew up a hit list of enemies, and on June 18, 1984 radio talk show host

was murdered in front of his home by Bruce Pierce, assisted by other members of The Order. Berg was number two on The Order's list. In December 1984, authorities were able to track Mathews down to a house on

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

where he refused to surrender. During a shootout, the house was ignited by incendiary flares and became engulfed in flames, and Mathews was killed. Mathews is considered a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

by some white nationalists.

Funding

Next, the group discussed how to fund actions of The Order, considering bidding on lumber-jacking and timber contracts,

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing money, diaspora funding from overseas oil countries, and robberies. Though timber contracts were legal, counterfeiting money appealed to the ideals of the group in that it undermined the government by devaluing US currency. Robbery was first denied as an option due to its perceived sinful nature, until someone suggested they could rob pimps and drug dealers, which would raise money for the organization as well as set back street criminals in their businesses. The organization won a bid on a timber trimming contract for a trail in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. After five hours of grueling work, Matthews decided to call off the work and head home. Headed back to the trucks, David Lane muttered, "Well, we're going to have to be better thinkers than our fathers were, because we're sure not the men they were," while Matthews mentions that the pay off from the job "would not fund the right wing for a week anyway." The Order decided to try their hand at robberies, attempting to target pimps and drug dealers. After weeks of trailing black men in flashy cars, they realized they had no idea what a pimp or drug dealer looked like , and decided to switch to other crimes for funding. The Order raised money through robbery. This began with the robbery of a pornographic video store, which netted them $369.10. Their later robberies were more effective, including a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

, followed by a series of three armored car robberies. In the armored car robberies, they took a total of $4.1 million, including their final armored car robbery near Ukiah,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

that netted them $3.8 million. The Order detonated a timed firebomb in a movie theater in Seattle (causing no deaths or injuries), in order to occupy the police during their second planned armored car robbery that took place the next day. Proceeds from these robberies were distributed to leaders of sympathetic organizations such as William Pierce ( National Alliance) and

Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. (November 23, 1940 – May 3, 2021), commonly known as Glenn Miller or Frazier Glenn Cross, was an American domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist and leader of the defunct North Carolina-based White Patriot Party (forme ...

(

White Patriot Party The White Patriot Party (WPP) was an American anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, homophobic, white supremacist paramilitary political party which was associated with Christian Identity and the Ku Klux Klan. It was led by its founder, Frazier Glenn ...

). The Order also ran a counterfeiting operation, but their bills were of poor quality, especially early on, and they led to Bruce Pierce being jailed early on, which later precipitated the group's downfall.

Downfall

The Order was ultimately brought down when a member, Tom Martinez, approached the FBI and offered to turn informant. His role in the organisation had been to pass counterfeit money and he had been arrested on June 29, 1984, for passing counterfeit ten dollar bills to buy liquor. After he was released on his own recognizance Mathews convinced him to go underground and during this period Martinez learned that Mathews intended to kill the liquor store owner in order to prevent him from testifying. When he learned of Mathews' plan, Martinez approached the FBI and offered to turn informant.

Convictions

Ten members of The Order were tried and convicted under

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act 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. RICO was en ...

(RICO) statutes with the help of the testimony of

, who testified against Order members in order to have his own sentence reduced. In a separate trial, three other members of The Order were tried and convicted of violating the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

of Alan Berg. No one has been charged in the murder of Berg. David Lane, the

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of :wikt:flee, fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of ...

for Berg's assailants, was sentenced to 190 consecutive years on the charges of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

, and violating Berg's civil rights. He died in prison in 2007. Order member Bruce Pierce was sentenced to 252 years in prison for his involvement in the Berg murder, and died of natural causes at the

Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex The Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood (FCC Allenwood) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The pri ...

on August 16, 2010 at the age of 56. Like Mathews, Lane and Pierce are regarded by many white-supremacists as heroes, political prisoners, and martyrs. In another trial, 14 men were charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

, conspiracy, and civil rights violations. Thirteen of them were acquitted, and the judge dismissed the charges against the fourteenth man for lack of evidence. A 2011

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

report claimed that some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive

Communication Management Unit A communications management unit (CMU) is a type of self-contained group within a facility in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication (telephone, mail, visitation) of inmat ...

. Richard Scutari, a member of the Order, was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in 1986, and was transferred to

USP Marion The United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion) is a large medium-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Southern Precinct, unincorporated Williamson County, Illinois. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pr ...

CMU in July 2008.

Members

The Order II (Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II)

The Order II, which is also known as the Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II, was an attempt to perpetuate the activities of the first Order by David and Deborah Dorr, both of whom were previously members of the

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...

, but their activities were confined to the state of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The group launched its first attack on March 6, 1986, when it sent a packaged bomb to Gary Solomon, a local Jewish businessman who owned the Solomon Trucking company in

Hayden Lake Lake Hayden, also known as Hayden Lake, is a lake located Kootenai County, Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–Unit ...

, Idaho. No casualties resulted from the incident and it is unknown whether or not the explosion caused any property damage. The bomb was sent by David Dorr, the leader of Order II, a group that grew out of the original Order, which had previously collapsed. Order II (Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II) was also anti-government and anti-Semitic. On August 7 of the same year, a 12-inch tube bomb exploded at Fred Bower's auto repair shop in Hayden,

, causing about $2,000 in damage. No casualties resulted from the incident. The two perpetrators, David and Deborah Dorr, and an alleged third perpetrator, Edward W. Hawley, were members of the Bruder Schweigen Strike Force II. On September 16, 1986, an explosion was reported in front of the house of a Catholic priest who lived in the city of Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho. The explosion caused no injuries. It only caused property damage. On

September 29 Events Pre-1600 *61 BC – Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday. * 1011 – Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, ...

, 1986, his latest attack targeted a federal building, a telephone and luggage store, and a restaurant parking lot in Coeur d'Alene, without causing any injuries. The

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

and local, state and federal security forces collected evidence from the scene of the blast and executed a federal search warrant at Dorr's residence three days later. Special agents discovered a shelter that housed fully automatic

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

assault rifles which was a violation of federal firearms laws, as well as 30 other firearms, large amounts of ammunition and counterfeit money. They also discovered bomb-making components that were used in the September 29 explosion, as well as in previous bombings. The militants received federal sentences which ranged from 6 to 30 years and state sentences which ranged from 5 years to life in prison.

Footnotes

DATA & GRAPHICS: Population Of The Communications Management Units
Margot Williams and Alyson Hurt,

, 3-3-11, retrieved 2011 03 04 from npr.org

External links

FBI file on the Order
{{DEFAULTSORT:Order, The 1983 establishments in Washington (state) American bank robbers Aryan Nations Clandestine groups Neo-fascist terrorism Neo-Nazi organizations in the United States Organizations based in North America designated as terrorist Organizations established in 1983 White-supremacist organized crime groups in the United States Religiously motivated violence in the United States Terrorism in the United States 1984 disestablishments in Washington (state)