{{Short description|Christian Identity organization}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox organization | name = Aryan Nations <!-- DO NOT change this flag image file without getting consensus through discussion on the article talk page first!! -->| formation = 1970s | image = Logo of Aryan Nations.svg | caption = Aryan Nations [[Wolfsangel]] emblem | founder = [[Richard Girnt Butler]] | type = [[Christian Identity]] and [[neo-Nazi]] organization | headquarters = [[Kootenai County]], Idaho | location = United States, chapters in Italy, Finland and Denmark<ref name=Goodrick-Clarke>{{Cite book |last=Goodrick-Clarke |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke |year=2002 |title=Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity |title-link=Black Sun (Goodrick-Clarke book) |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |isbn=0-8147-3124-4|page=248}}</ref> }} '''Aryan Nations''' was a [[North America]]n [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]]<ref name="Anti-Defamation League">{{cite web |url=https://www.adl.org/education/resources/profiles/aryan-nations |title=Aryan Nations/Church of Jesus Christ Christian |website=Anti-Defamation League |access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref> organization that was originally based in [[Kootenai County, Idaho|Kootenai County]], [[Idaho]], about {{fraction|2|3|4}} miles (4.4 km) north of the city of [[Hayden Lake, Idaho|Hayden Lake]]. [[Richard Girnt Butler]] founded Aryan Nations in the 1970s. It adhered to [[Christian Identity]] doctrine, a white supremacist interpretation of Christianity. The group had several state chapters, but was very decentralized.
Starting in 1981, Butler organized yearly gatherings of white supremacists at his compound in Idaho which he termed the "Aryan Nations World Congress." In 2001, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) classified Aryan Nations as a "terrorist threat."<ref>{{cite web |last=Freeh |first=Louis Joseph |author-link=Louis Freeh |title=FBI Press Room - Congressional Statement - 2001 - Threat of Terrorism to the United States |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] |date=May 10, 2001 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/freeh051001.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010812035823/http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/freeh051001.htm |archive-date=August 12, 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In a review of terrorist organizations, the [[RAND Corporation]] called it the "first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=29|title=Terrorist Organization Profile: Aryan Nations (AN)|publisher=[[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]|access-date=June 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230201247/http://start.umd.edu/start/data%5Fcollections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=29|archive-date=December 30, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Due to a decline in Butler's health, his abilities to lead the group faltered in the late 1990s, and the group experienced some schisms, including one led by [[August Kreis III]], who Butler expelled. After his death in 2004, Aryan Nations schismed further into several different organizations, some of which continue to use the name Aryan Nations.
==History==
=== Background and founding === Aryan Nations beliefs are based on the teachings of [[Wesley A. Swift]], a leading figure in the early [[Christian Identity]] movement.<ref name="AN_Intel_Files" /> Swift was originally exposed to [[British Israelism]] while at the [[Angelus Temple]]<ref name="jhs">{{cite journal|title=Justification by Race: Wesley Swift's White Supremacy and Anti-Semitic Theological Views in His Christian Identity Sermons|author=Bochicchio, Ana|publisher=Gonzaga University|date=October 5, 2021|journal=Journal of Hate Studies |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages= 35–51|doi=10.33972/jhs.183 |s2cid=241056514 |doi-access=free|hdl=11336/145441|hdl-access=free}}</ref> through the teachings of visiting minister [[Gerald Burton Winrod]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/cgs/1938/11/24/01/article/118/?e=-------he-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxTI--------------1|title=Protests Winrod Appearance|publisher=The Sentinel|date=July 24, 1938}}</ref> Swift was also exposed to [[Charles Parham]]'s British Israel teachings at the Angelus Temple.<ref name="jhs" /> Combining British Israelism, extreme [[antisemitism]], and political militancy, Swift later founded his own church in [[California]] in the mid-1940s known as the Anglo-Saxon Christian Congregation. He hosted a daily radio broadcast in California during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, the name of his church was changed to the [[Church of Jesus Christ–Christian]], a name which continues to be used by Aryan Nations churches.<ref name="ADL-AryanN">{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/news/article/extremism-in-america-aryan-nationschurch-of-jesus-christ-christian |title=Extremism in America: Aryan Nations/Church of Jesus Christ Christian|publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]|year=2007|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Barkun |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gY6OzgEACAAJ |title=Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement |date=1994 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4451-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=70}}
[[William Potter Gale]] introduced [[Richard Girnt Butler]] to Swift in 1962.<ref name="levitas">{{cite book |first=Daniel |last=Levitas |title=The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right |publisher=[[Thomas Dunne Books]] |year=2002 |location=New York |isbn=0-312-29105-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/terroristnextdoo00levi |access-date=February 16, 2021 }}</ref>{{rp|110}} Swift quickly converted Butler, who was an admirer of [[Adolf Hitler]] and Wisconsin Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], to Christian Identity. When Swift died in 1971, Butler fought against Gale, James Warner, and Swift's widow for control of the Church of Jesus Christ–Christian. Butler eventually gained control of the organization and moved it from California to Idaho in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Aryan Nations/Church of Jesus Christ Christian|url=https://www.adl.org/education/resources/profiles/aryan-nations|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620131258/https://www.adl.org/education/resources/profiles/aryan-nations |archive-date=2017-06-20 |access-date=February 4, 2021|website=adl.org|publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]}}</ref><ref name="kaplan">{{cite book |editor-last=Kaplan |editor-first=Jeffrey |editor-link=Jeffrey Kaplan (academic) |title=Encyclopedia of White Power: a Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right |publisher=[[AltaMira Press]] |date=2000 |isbn=0-7425-0340-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNWbbhUYv8oC |access-date=February 9, 2021 }}</ref>{{rp|298}} After moving to Idaho, Butler founded Aryan Nations as a paramilitary wing of the church with an ideological mixture of Christian Identity and [[Nazism]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Aryan Nations {{!}} Definition, History, & Human Rights Education Institute {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aryan-Nations |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251002060935/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aryan-Nations |archive-date=2025-10-02 |access-date=2026-04-03 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2026|reason=only partially supports the sentence}}
=== Activities === From 1974 until 2001, the Aryan Nations headquarters was located in a 20-acre (8.1 ha) compound 1.8 miles (3 km) north of [[Hayden, Idaho]].<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> In 1995, Aryan Nations had 26 state chapters but was very decentralized and the chapters' ties to the organization's headquarters were extremely loose. In addition to the organization in the United States, Aryan Nations had chapters in Europe in Italy, Finland and Denmark.<ref name=Goodrick-Clarke/> The group hosted an annual World Congress of Aryan Nations at Hayden Lake for Aryan Nations members and members of similar groups.<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> At his first conference, Butler called for the division of the United States into racial mini-states, including a [[Northwest Territorial Imperative|white ethnostate in the Pacific Northwest]]. He said that he had a black ally in the plan, [[Louis Farrakhan]], leader of the [[Nation of Islam]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1998-09-15 |title=Aryan Nations Leader Richard Girnt Butler in Final Days of Life |url=https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/aryan-nations-leader-richard-girnt-butler-final-days-life/ |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en-US}}</ref>
At the 1983 Aryan Nations World Congress, [[Louis Beam]] and other leaders in the white power movement declared war on the U.S. government.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Laura |date=2021-01-26 |title=Lone Wolves Connected Online: A History of Modern White Supremacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/us/louis-beam-white-supremacy-internet.html |access-date=2025-06-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Aryan Nations had difficult relations with the city of [[Coeur d'Alene, Idaho|Coeur d'Alene]]. In 1986-1987, there were a series of bombings of the homes of local human rights activists, after which, the city and Aryan Nations left each other alone. In 1998, Aryan Nations applied for a permit for a march in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Although the permit was approved, the city declared a public holiday on the same day, resulting in an empty downtown of closed businesses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Jeffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNWbbhUYv8oC |title=Encyclopedia of white power: a sourcebook on the radical racist right |date=2000 |publisher=Altamira press |isbn=978-0-7425-0340-3 |location=Walnut Creek |pages=7–8}}</ref>
===Shooting, lawsuit and breakup=== <!--linked from redirect [[Keenan v. Aryan Nations]]--> [[File:Flag of Aryan Nations.svg|left|thumb|175x175px|Flag used by Aryan Nations in the 2000s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_img_md/public/2018-05/loyal%20white%20knights%20and%20aryan%20nations%20in%20texas%20july%202016%20from%20vkdotcom_0.jpg?itok=WBdLBJmS|format=jpg|title=A bunch of racists -|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827132737/https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_img_md/public/2018-05/loyal%20white%20knights%20and%20aryan%20nations%20in%20texas%20july%202016%20from%20vkdotcom_0.jpg?itok=WBdLBJmS|archive-date=2019-08-27|access-date=2023-08-20|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/rf/image_inline/Pub/p7/AJC/2016/06/22/Images/photos.medleyphoto.10267262.jpg|title=Hitler's fan club|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626151610/https://www.ajc.com/rf/image_inline/Pub/p7/AJC/2016/06/22/Images/photos.medleyphoto.10267262.jpg|archive-date=2019-06-26|format=jpg|access-date=2023-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/group_images/SPLC-Intelligence-Files-Groups-Aryan-Nations-1280x720.jpg|title=A group of people with flags - some with a target on their chest|format=jpg|access-date=2023-08-20}}</ref>]] In September 2000, the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) won a $6.3 million judgment against Aryan Nations from an [[Idaho]] jury, who awarded punitive and compensatory damages to plaintiffs Victoria Keenan and her son Jason. The two Native Americans had been beaten with rifles by Aryan Nations security guards in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in July 1998.<ref>{{cite news|first=Raju |last=Chebium |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/09/08/morris.dees.profile/ |title=Attorney Morris Dees pioneer in using 'damage litigation' to fight hate groups |agency=[[CNN]] |date=September 8, 2000 |access-date=June 16, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="AryanNations">{{cite news|url=https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice/case-docket/keenan-v-aryan-nations|title=Keenan v. Aryan Nations|publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|year=2000|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref> The woman and her son were driving near Aryan Nations compound when their car [[Back-fire|backfired]], which the guards claimed to misinterpret as gunfire.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2000-09-08|title=Jury Verdict Could Bankrupt Aryans|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-08-mn-17576-story.html|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> The guards fired at the car, striking it several times. The car crashed and one of the Nations guards held the Keenans at gunpoint, beating them. Two of the assailants, Aryan Nations security chief Edward Jessie Warfield and guard John Yeager, were prosecuted for the attack. Warfield pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to two to five years in prison. Yeager entered an [[Alford plea]] for assault and was sentenced to up 2.5 years in prison. A third attacker was never found.<ref name="Seattle Times">{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20000816/4037143/supremacist-suit-might-include-punitive-damages|title=Supremacist suit might include punitive damages|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=August 16, 2000|access-date=June 16, 2017|archive-date=September 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930004240/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20000816&slug=4037143|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AryanNations" />
The SPLC filed suit on behalf of the Keenans. A jury found that Butler and Aryan Nations were grossly negligent in selecting and supervising the guards, and awarded the Keenans $6.3 million.<ref name="AryanNations" /> A local attorney from Keenan's legal team said that the large verdict was partly to compensate the Keenans, but largely to punish Butler and his followers, and serve to deter similar conduct in the future.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/07/north-idaho-marks-10-years-aryan-nations-verdict/ |title=North Idaho marks 10 years since Aryan Nations verdict|work=Spokesman|date=September 7, 2010}}</ref>
The $6.3 million verdict caused Butler to file for bankruptcy one month later.<ref>{{cite news |title=Idaho 'Hate Compound' Converted Into Peace Park - 2002-08-14 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2002-08-14-19-idaho-67436557/384473.html |access-date=July 17, 2018 |work=VOA |date=October 29, 2009 |language=en}}</ref> As part of the bankruptcy process, the group's property was put up for auction. SPLC loaned the Keenans $95,000 to bid on the 20-acre property.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pair Who Sued Hate Group to Buy Compound at Auction |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-08-mn-22878-story.html |access-date=July 17, 2018 |agency=Associated Press |date=February 8, 2001}}</ref> 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.<ref name="AryanNations" /> Idaho native and millionaire philanthropist Greg Carr purchased the property from the Keenans, donating it to the [[North Idaho College]] Foundation. It has been converted to a park dedicated to peace.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boggs |first1=Alison |title=North Idaho marks 10 years since Aryan Nations verdict |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/07/north-idaho-marks-10-years-aryan-nations-verdict/ |access-date=July 17, 2018 |work=Spokesman.com |publisher=The Spokesman-Review |date=September 7, 2010 |language=en}}</ref>
Local fire departments demolished some of the church's former buildings by burning them during training exercises,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dawson |first1=James |title=Slideshow: Rise And Fall Of Aryan Nations In North Idaho |url=http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/slideshow-rise-and-fall-aryan-nations-north-idaho#stream/0 |access-date=July 17, 2018 |publisher=Boise State Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> including the Hayden Lake headquarters on June 29, 2001.<ref name="Deseret">{{cite news |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Aryan inferno |url=https://www.deseret.com/2001/6/29/19593794/aryan-inferno/ |access-date=June 30, 2025 |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=June 29, 2001}}</ref> [[Edgar Steele]], the attorney who had represented Butler, was later convicted of hiring a handyman to kill his own wife. In 2014, Steele died while serving a 50-year prison sentence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Idaho Aryan Nations Attorney Has Died |url=http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/former-idaho-aryan-nations-attorney-has-died#stream/0 |access-date=July 17, 2018 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Boise State Public Radio |language=en}}</ref>{{Christian Identity sidebar|Organizations}} ===Decline and legacy=== {{Original research section|date=January 2024}} Until 1998, the leadership of Aryan Nations remained firmly in the hands of Richard Girnt Butler. By that time, he was over 80 years old, and his health was poor. As Butler's health deteriorated, so did his ability to lead the group. This led to a series of violent events in Coeur d'Alene involving [[White power skinhead|skinheads]] who had infiltrated the group.<ref name=":0" />
At the annual Aryan Nations World Congress in 2001, Neuman Britton was appointed to lead Aryan Nations as Butler's successor. Following Neuman's death in August 2001,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-21-me-36591-story.html|title=White Supremacist Leader Dies|first=L. A. Times|last=Archives|date=August 21, 2001|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Butler appointed Harold Ray Redfeairn of Ohio to lead Aryan Nations as his successor;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/9434dc23e992e92fcac4e5dbb1e6a14f|title=Harold Ray Redfeairn, Aryan Leader, Dies|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> he had been agitating for control of the organization since the mid-1990s. Redfeairn had brought in Dave Hall, an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] informant who exposed the group's illegal activities.<ref>Hall, Dave; Tym Burkey, Katherine Ramsland (2008). {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090113234732/http://www.intothedevilsden.com/listentointerviews.html ''Into the Devil's Den'']}} (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. {{ISBN|0-345-49694-9}}.</ref> After this was discovered, Redfeairn was distrusted by some in the group. Redfeairn and [[August Kreis III]], the propaganda minister for Aryan Nations, formed a splinter group, and Butler expelled them from Aryan Nations.
A few months later, Redfeairn returned to form an alliance with Butler.<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> Butler's 2002 World Congress drew fewer than 100 people, and when he ran for mayor, he lost, garnering only 50 votes against more than 2,100 votes.<ref name="ButlerObit">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D1EF93C540C7A8CDDA00894DC404482|title=Richard G. Butler, 86, Dies; Founder of Aryan Nations|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 9, 2004|first=Daniel J.|last=Wakin|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref> Redfeairn died in October 2003,<ref>{{cite news |title=Harold Ray Redfeairn, Aryan Leader, Dies|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=October 26, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=116 |title=At Death's Door |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |date=Fall 2003 |access-date=August 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807035018/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=116 |archive-date=August 7, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Butler died of [[heart failure]] in September 2004.<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> At the time of Butler's death, Aryan Nations had about 200 actively participating members.
Aryan Nations was divided between three main factions. The largest group after Aryan Nations' bankruptcy was led by Charles John Juba, followed by [[August Kreis III]]<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> until Kreis stepped down as leader and designated Drew Bostwick as his successor in 2012. In 2002, Juba's group was based on a {{convert|10|acre|ha|adj=on}} compound in the rural town of [[Ulysses, Pennsylvania|Ulysses]] in [[Potter County, Pennsylvania|Potter County]], north central [[Pennsylvania]]; it hosted the 2002 Aryan Nations World Congress.<ref name="2002wackoconference">{{cite web|year=2007 |url=http://www.aryan-nations.org/about.htm |title=Aryan Nations — About Us |publisher=Aryan Nations |access-date=January 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116233939/http://www.aryan-nations.org/about.htm |archive-date=January 16, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Kreis established a new headquarters in [[Lexington, South Carolina|Lexington]], [[South Carolina]], and he eventually moved it close to [[Union City, Tennessee]]. In 2005, Kreis received media attention because he attempted to form an Aryan Nations–[[al Qaeda]] alliance.<ref name="CNN2005">{{cite news |last=Schuster |first=Henry |date=March 29, 2005 |title=An unholy alliance: Aryan Nation leader reaches out to al Qaeda |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/29/schuster.column |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050403063031/http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/29/schuster.column/ |archive-date=April 3, 2005 |access-date=June 11, 2025 |agency=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
Based in New York, and led by Jay Faber, Aryan Nations Revival became one of the more well-known splinter groups.<ref name=":1">{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep05612.7 |title=Empirical Picture: The Perpetrators and Trends among Specific Movements |last=Perliger |first=Arie |date=2012 |publisher=Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point |pages=138}}</ref> In the ''[[Congressional Record]]'', the leaders of Aryan Nations Revival were listed as [[Domestic terrorism in the United States|domestic terrorists]]. The government concluded that the Holy Order of the Brotherhood of the Phineas Priesthood was the enforcement/terrorist wing of Aryan Nations. Aryan Nations Revival hosted a weekly radio broadcast which it titled ''The Aryan Nations Broadcast''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} Airing from 1979 to 2009, the radio program was authorized by Richard Butler. The program ended when host [[Hal Turner]] was arrested for threatening the lives of federal judges in [[Chicago]]. While incarcerated, Turner announced, through his attorney, that he was a federal informant, and that Aryan Nations was among those organizations which had been informed upon.
In 2009, Aryan Nations Revival, which was then based in [[Texas]], merged with Pastor Jerald O'Brien's Aryan Nations, which was based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Both parties ardently adhered to Christian Identity.<ref name="AN_Intel_Files">{{cite web|title=Intelligence Files - Groups - Aryan Nations|publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|access-date=June 16, 2017|year=2011|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/aryan-nations}}</ref><ref name="ADL_Jan09">{{cite web|title=A Weakened Aryan Nations Spins Off Many Factions |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |access-date=March 13, 2011 |date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/groups/aryan_nations/Aryan_Nations_spinoffs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214171351/http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/groups/aryan_nations/Aryan_Nations_spinoffs.htm |archive-date=February 14, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Will the Real Aryan Nations Please Stand Up? |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |access-date=March 14, 2011 |year=2011 |url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/summer/will-the-real-aryan-nations-please-st |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304130542/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/summer/will-the-real-aryan-nations-please-st |archive-date=March 4, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><!-- <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aryannationsrevival.org/index.htm|title=Aryan Nations|date=June 2, 2010|access-date=June 2, 2010}}</ref> Need June 2010 archived page --><ref name="ANRweb">{{cite web|title=Aryan Nations Website |publisher=Aryannationsrevival.org |access-date=March 12, 2011 |url=http://www.aryannationsrevival.org/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725015047/http://www.aryannationsrevival.org/index.htm |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The most successful splinter group was likely Paul Mullet's Crusaders of Yahweh, which had branches in 17 states.<ref name=":1" />
==Symbols== [[File:Flag of Aryan Nations (alternate).svg|thumb|175x175px|Alternate flag]] {{Expand section|date=April 2026}} The emblem (or shield) of Aryan Nations is designed to reflect aspects of [[British Israelism]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neonazi Flags in the United States |url=http://fotw.fivestarflags.com/us%7Dnaz.html |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=fotw.fivestarflags.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Clark |editor-first1=Emily Suzanne |editor-last2=Stoddard |editor-first2=Brad |title=Race and New Religious Movements in the USA |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-350-06399-0 |location=London |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]]}}</ref> It contains a [[Wolfsangel]] symbol, the crossbar of which has been replaced by a "crown-topped sword."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aryan Nations {{!}} ADL |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/aryan-nations |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=www.adl.org |language=en}}</ref> The Wolfsangel symbol, originally used by ancient Germans to ward off wolves, was used by Nazi organizations, including the [[Waffen-SS]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolfsangel {{!}} ADL |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/wolfsangel |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=www.adl.org |language=en}}</ref>
==Associates== In 1983, [[Robert Jay Mathews]], who had visited the Aryan Nations compound many times, formed [[The Order (white supremacist group)|The Order]], along with Aryan Nations members Dan Bauer, Randy Duey, Denver Parmenter, and Bruce Pierce.<ref>{{cite web|last=McClary |first=Daryl C. |title=Robert Jay Mathews, founder of the white-supremacist group The Order, is killed during an FBI siege on Whidbey Island on December 8, 1984. |publisher=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=March 12, 2011 |date=December 6, 2006 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7921 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429004637/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7921 |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Order's mission was to overthrow the [[Zionist Occupational Government]] and establish the [[Northwest Territorial Imperative]] through an orchestrated plot to commit acts of [[domestic terrorism]] which would include [[murder]], [[arson]], [[armed robbery]], [[theft]], [[counterfeiting]], and extortion between 1983 and 1984.<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> Dennis McGiffen, who also had ties to Aryan Nations, formed a group called "The New Order", inspired by Mathews' group.<ref name="ADL-AryanN" /> The members were arrested before they could follow through with their violent plans.
Buford O. Furrow Jr., who was convicted of the [[Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting]] and the murder of [[Filipino Americans|Filipino American]] postal worker Joseph Ileto, had previously worked as a security guard at the Aryan Nations compound for some time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/11/california.shooting.04/ |title=L.A. shooting suspect surrenders in Las Vegas |agency=[[CNN]] |date=August 11, 1999 |access-date=August 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826152445/http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/11/california.shooting.04/ |archive-date=August 26, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On April 4, 2004, intending to start a "[[Ethnic conflict|Race War]]", Sean Michael Gillespie (a former member of Aryan Nations) threw a [[Molotov cocktail]] at B'nai Temple Israel in [[Oklahoma City]], [[Oklahoma]]. There were no casualties, but the building sustained material damage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/terror_from_the_right_0.pdf|title=Terror From the Right: 75 Plots, Conspiracies and Racist Rampages Since Oklahoma City|work=Southern Poverty Law Center|accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2004/05/04/informants-lead-arrest-in-firebombing-br-fbi-agents-were-told-the-man-taped-his-attack-on-synagogue/61991268007/|title=Informants lead to arrest in firebombing FBI agents were told the man taped his attack on a synagogue|work=The Oklahoman|accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2005/04/27/man-convicted-temple-attackbrformer-aryan-nations-member-faces-years-for-his-role-in-federal-crimes/61945049007/|title=Man convicted in temple attack Former Aryan Nations member faces 35 years for his role in federal crimes.|work=The Oklahoman|accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref> Gillespie was arrested in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], Arkansas, on April 16 of the same year, but it was not until August 2005 that he was sentenced to 39 years in prison for attacking the Jewish temple and trying to send a racist letter to the congregation. The defendant raised his hand in a [[Nazi salute]] with stiff arms as the judge left the courtroom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newson6.com/story/5e368bab2f69d76f620a2bd6/washington-state-man-convicted-in-attack-on-synagogue|title=Washington state man convicted in attack on synagogue|work=News 9|accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/news/article/white-supremacist-sentenced-in-oklahoma-synagogue-attack|title=White Supremacist Sentenced in Oklahoma Synagogue Attack|work=The Anti Defamation League|accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9136468|title=Oklahoma synagogue bomber gets 39 years|work=CBS News|date=August 31, 2005 |accessdate=2022-08-09}}</ref>
==See also== {{div col}} * [[Aryan Brotherhood]] * [[Aryan Circle]] * [[Aryan Freedom Network]], holds events at old Aryan Nations HQ * [[Aryan race]] * ''[[The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century]]'' * [[Kinism]] * [[Nordicism]] * [[Nordic Israelism]] * [[Positive Christianity]] * [[Robert E. Miles]] {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170204132543/http://archive.adl.org/poisoning_web/aryan_nations.asp Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online]—ADL article * [http://vault.fbi.gov/Aryan%20Nation FBI file on Aryan Nations]
{{Neo-Nazism}}
[[Category:Aryan Nations| ]] [[Category:Antisemitism in Idaho]] [[Category:Christian Identity groups]] [[Category:Christian terrorism in the United States]] [[Category:Groups claiming Israelite descent]] [[Category:Neo-Nazi organizations in the United States]] [[Category:1970s establishments in Idaho]] [[Category:Secessionist organizations in the United States]] [[Category:White separatist groups]]