William Potter Gale (1916-1988) was a political activist who was involved with several

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

groups, including

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, ...

and the Posse Comitatus. He was tied to the Aryan Nations, the

Church of Jesus Christ–Christian The Church of Jesus Christ–Christian is an American Christian Identity, white supremacist church, which was founded in 1946 by Ku Klux Klan organizer Wesley A. Swift. Swift was the son of a Methodist Episcopal Church, South minister and is ...

, the

Sovereign citizen movement The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose grouping of litigants, activists, tax protesters, financial scheme promoters and conspiracy theorists, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpret ...

, and the

Militia Movement The American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized milit ...

Early life and career

William Potter Gale was born on November 20, 1916, the fourth of five children of Charles Gale and Mary Agnes Potter. He was named after his maternal grandfather, William Potter; His father was raised as a Jew but rejected

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

. Potter's father Charles was descended from a long line of religiously devout Jews. Charles Gale arrived in the United States in 1894, fleeing from the antisemitic

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

s and the economic instability which were occurring in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, changing his family's name from "Grabifker" to Gale. At the age of 18, Charles Gale lied about his age and place of birth in order to serve in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, but he truthfully listed his ethnicity as "Hebrew" on his military enlistment papers. Charles abandoned Judaism, married a non-Jewish woman, and raised their children as

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. Charles Gale's siblings continued to practice Judaism. An Army Lieutenant Colonel, William Potter Gale served on General Douglas MacArthur's staff during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After leaving the army, Gale became an Episcopalian minister, but he eventually founded his own church. He also joined the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ide ...

. In 1964, he opened a securities firm in Glendale, California, and ran in the

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

primary for the 27th Congressional District without success.

Activities and affiliations

Along with associates, Gale founded the California Rangers in the 1960s. The Rangers were registered as a civil defense group, although the

Anti Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Se ...

(ADL) has listed them as a paramilitary

tax resistance Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax, or to government policy, or as opposition to taxation in itself. Tax resistance is a form of direct action and, if in violation of the tax ...

group. According to his own account, he was involved in the founding of the Christian Defense League (CDL) along with S.J. Capt sometime between 1957 and 1962. Having been introduced to Wesley Swift by S.J. Capt in 1956, Gale was involved in Swift's Church of Jesus Christ, Christian along with recognizable Christian Identity figures like Bertrand Comperet and Richard Girnt Butler. Swift ordained Gale as a Christian Identity minister that same year.

Michael Barkun __NOTOC__ Michael Barkun (born April 8, 1938) is an American academic who serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious ext ...

refers to Gale as "a major Identity figure, part of the Comparet-Swift-Gale triumvirate that defined Christian Identity in California." Following Swift's death in 1970, Gale turned from advocate to enemy, attacking Swift and his followers in his writings and publications. Gale has been described as the founder of the Posse Comitatus movement. Barkun states that although the Posse Comitatus was not specifically an Identity movement, there were prominent Identity figures who were associated with it. Gale founded the United States Christian Posse Associates as an offshoot of his Ministry of Christ church. He was one of the founders of the

Christian Patriot movement The Christian Patriot movement is a subset within the broader American Patriot movement that promotes and emphasizes Christian nationalism as their core goal and philosophy. Like the larger movement, it promotes a Historical revisionism, revisio ...

in the 1980s. On October 2, 1987, Gale was convicted of tax related crimes and sent to prison. While his appeal was pending, he died on April 28, 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, William Potter 1916 births 1988 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent Aryan Nations Christian Identity American white supremacists California Republicans Sovereign citizen movement individuals John Birch Society members