Roeder Tape Reveals Militia Connection
Frederick Clarkson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 03:57:33 PM EST
The story of the assasination of Dr. George Tiller by antiabortion militant Scott Roeder has taken a revealing turn.  The AP is reports that in a 1996 cable TV interview with fellow antiabortion miltant David Leach, Roeder discussed his anti-government militia views.  

Although there has been reporting on Roeder's involvement in the farther reaches of the Religious Right, this would be the first detailed examination of the depth and breadth of the views that have animiated his politics for many years.

The AP reports:
A newly resurfaced 1996 video shows the convicted killer of a Kansas abortion doctor discussing his anti-government militia views with an Iowa anti-abortion activist.... on a Des Moines cable show.

In it Roeder talks with Iowa abortion opponent Dave Leach about his Freemen philosophy. He also discusses his appeal of a 1996 conviction for carrying bomb-making materials in his unlicensed vehicle.

Leach plans to post a preview of the interview on YouTube and sell copies of the entire tape.

Roeder was convicted Jan. 29 of first-degree murder for shooting Dr. George Tiller last May as the doctor served as an usher at his Wichita church. The Kansas City, Mo., man is to be sentenced March 9.

In the Summer 1998 issue of Intelligence Report, the journal of the Southern Poverty Law Center, I published a two part discussion of antiabortion violence, one of which was an analysis of how antibortionism was often an animating feature of the farther reaches of the far right, as was evident in the militia movement at the time.

Anti-Abortion Extremists: "Patriots" and Racists Converge

Here are a few excerpts:

· August Kreis and James Wickstrom, longtime leaders of the violently racist and anti-Semitic Posse Comitatus, recently put up an article on their Web site hailing Rudolph as "a true warrior of YHVH [God]."

Wickstrom, a Michigan militia enthusiast who organized paramilitary training for the Posse during the 1980s, has served prison time for impersonating public officials and counterfeiting. Kreis, Wickstrom's Posse deputy, headed The Messiah's Militia in Pennsylvania.

In their article, the men complain about the "several hundred JOG agents (jewish occupational government forces)" searching for Rudolph.

· The Rev. Matthew Trewhella, who founded the militant Missionaries to the Preborn, was one of the first anti-abortion leaders to publicly call for militias.

At a 1994 Wisconsin convention of the U.S. Taxpayers Party (USTP)[since renamed as the Constitution Party] -- which mixes anti-abortion and antigovernment Patriot militants -- he called on churches to form armed militias. After telling congregants to do "the most loving thing" by buying their children "an SKS rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition," he said he was teaching his own 16-month-old the location of his "trigger finger."

The Wisconsin USTP ticket has included Ernest Brusubardis III, a "captain" of the Wisconsin Militia arrested in several Wisconsin clinic blockades.

· Willie Ray Lampley, head of the Oklahoma Constitutional Militia, is serving 11 years in federal prison for plotting to blow up abortion clinics, gay bars, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League offices and other targets. His wife and another man were also convicted in the ammonium nitrate bomb conspiracy.

· The Rev. W.N. Otwell, who reportedly has called America a "white man's country" and protested "race-mixing," has led his camouflage-clad followers in protests at an abortion clinic.

In 1996, Otwell traveled from his Texas compound to support the white supremacist Montana Freemen in their 81-day armed standoff with federal agents. He also protested in behalf of Republic of Texas criminals during their 1997 standoff.

· Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, helped Operation Rescue at a time when it was facing a $50,000 fine. Pratt's Committee to Protect the Family Foundation raised nearly $150,000 to pay Operation Rescue's bills, without that organization ever holding the money. Pratt only halted his fundraising when a judge ruled that the foundation could be held liable for Operation Rescue's fines.

Pratt has spoken at white supremacist gatherings and has long advocated formation of armed militias.

· Texas anti-abortion leader Jack DeVault, while on work release for illegally blocking clinic entrances, reported on the Branch Davidian trial for the American Patriot Fax Network and "Radio Free America," a program that has featured many extremists. He also reportedly proposed forming citizens' posses to run out "meddling federal agents."

· Joe Holland, one-time national director of the North American Volunteer Militia, has said government support for "murder clinics" and the "advancement of homosexuals" made him a rebel.

Holland, who died in prison this spring, once threatened to send law enforcement officers "home in body bags." He was serving time for criminal syndicalism and jury tampering in Montana when he suffered a heart attack in March.

· Tim Dreste, a leader of the militant American Coalition of Life Activists, also has been a captain and chaplain of a militia group, the 1st Missouri Volunteers. Dreste led several 1988 invasions of abortion clinics in New York and Atlanta. After the 1993 murder of Dr. David Gunn, he carried a sign: "Dr. ... Are you feeling under the Gunn?"

· Dale Pultz, a member of the Missionaries to the Preborn who has been convicted of illegally blocking clinics, used Patriot "common-law" techniques to slap a $700,000 lien on a judge who jailed him. This type of common-law "paper terrorism" is a Patriot tactic that is derived from the anti-Semitic Posse Comitatus group active in the 1980s.

The other article Anti-Abortion Violence: Two decades of arson, bombs and murder discusses part of the role of Roeder interviewer David Leach as a hub of antiabortion-inspired revolutionary activity.

It is, perhaps, the history of the future. In much the way that the neo-Nazi novel The Turner Diaries served as a blueprint for white supremacist revolution, a fictional account of the future of insurrectionary anti-abortion violence has already been written.
And it is a chilling tale.

Rescue Platoon, a story of a future, final war against abortion, was serialized this year on a Web site sponsored by David Leach, whose Iowa-based newsletter, Prayer & Action Weekly News, has supported the pro-violence anti-abortion network. Replete with bombs and murder, the mini-novel tells of a "righteous wrath" to come.

In the end, the "Army of God," amid a bloodbath of epic proportions, gains the final victory.

Over the years, the race war fantasy detailed in The Turner Diaries has been used by a series of terrorists from The Order to Timothy McVeigh. Now, observers fear, these new, revolution-minded stories could prove to be a road map for anti-abortion terror.

Since that time, law enforcement, particularly since 9/11 has paid a great deal of attention to antiabortion inspired domestic terrorism and has prevented many major crimes. But as Scott Roeder showed, there are still dedicated revolutionaries who organize violent acts to carry out their aims. And most often, these aims are not soley about abortion.




Display:
Interesting change of terminology. When I first began reading up on the Religious Right and read the Turner Diaries, I kept running across the term ZOG(Zionist Occupation Government). Now it seems that it has morphed into the JOG(Jewish Occupation Government). I cannot help but wonder if this was done in deference to John Hagee and the rest of the Christian Zionist crowd. After all, one of the major features of the Militia belief system is that of a great "Final War" that is coming.
Are there any definite links between these outfits and Rick Joyner's Morningstar Ministries?

by Frank Frey on Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 04:45:17 PM EST
Frank, this is an interesting observation.  I read and watch large quantities of conspiracy theory media from both  "pro-Israel" Christian Zionists and overt anti-Semitic groups.  Their narratives  are strikingly similar.  Christian Zionists are transitioning to charismatic "dominionist" narratives in which they will not be Raptured but will stay on earth to be the "army of God."  (Rick Joyner and Mike Bickle write quite a bit about this.)  This has brought the apocalyptic timeline of Christian Zionism much closer to that of groups like Christian Identity.  See my recent article at The Public Eye for more on this transition that is taking place.

Another similarity is that growing numbers of Christian Zionists are viewing themselves as Israel with rights to the land and are becoming increasingly hostile to Jews who don't care to go along with this end times drama. White supremacists give Hagee a hard time for his partnership with Jews, although if you take out the racial supremacism and just leave the religious supremacism, there is not a huge difference in their conspiracy theories about Jews.  

Zionism can now mean a Christian millennialist cause in preparation for a Christian end times kingdom based in Israel, so maybe that is why JOG is being used instead of ZOG.

by Rachel Tabachnick on Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 06:42:51 PM EST
Parent


The useage quoted above is from an article from 1998 by leaders of the Posse Comitatus, and so does not point to any contemporary trend. The ADL suggests that the terms are used interchangeably.  http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/acronyms_ZOG.asp

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 01:21:39 AM EST
Parent
Philip Herbst 2003 book "Talking Terrorism" refers to the increase in the use of  the term JOG and I had noticed this recently in some of the major anti-Jewish websites that I follow as part of my research.  Since the mid-1990s, ADL has not provided up-to-date information on the relationship of Christian Zionism and the dissemination of anti-Semitic media, much less the role that Christian Zionist are playing in co-opting "Zionism."  To my knowledge they have not mentioned the growing multi-racial and multi-national  "Israel Identity" groups.  The overtly anti-Semitic quotes that ADL documents are shown as coming from white supremacist groups despite the fact that almost identical ones are coming from evangelists in positions of authority and Christian Zionists.

I have just finished watching a video of a partially constructed center in Samaria built to aid Christian Zionists in moving to the West Bank.  There is a growing trend of "Ephraimites" or Christians who believe that they are Israelites with "birthright" to Israel.  In other words, "Zionist" no longer necessarily refers to Jews. Arguably Christian Zionist are now greater in number, broadcast capacity, and outreach than Jewish Zionists.  

This is a quote from one of the Ephraimite pastors who head "Congregation of YVHH" in NJ and Jerusalem.  He advertises a school near the Galilee at which he is supposedly partnering with the Jewish Agency for Israel. "I am sorry to say that modern rabbinic Judaism is a false second century religion made up by an evil man named Akiva."  He continues with an assault on the Talmud and Rabbinic Judaism which is nearly identical to the type found on Christian Identity sites, but this is a "Christian Zionist" setting up shop in Israel.  

The trajectory of Christian Zionism is looking increasingly like that of British Israelism of 100 years ago but with a twist.  These Christian Zionist are not racial supremacists but religious supremacists and they are using terminology like "spiritual DNA" to differentiate between themselves and Jews. Also, these religious supremacists have managed to partner with members of the Likud Party and Israeli organizations who view them as political allies.  I have seen nothing from ADL that would indicate that they are even looking at this.

I have nothing scientific to show that the use of JOG correlates with the co-opting of the term Zionism, but it is a valid question and I will be paying more attention.

by Rachel Tabachnick on Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 12:13:02 PM EST
Parent

At that same NJ church, in its latest sermon a pastor has read extended passages from a 2009 book which claims Rothschilds control the world economy and most of the world's gold.

The sermon is on video, which I've downloaded.

by Bruce Wilson on Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 07:18:39 PM EST
Parent





Good work, Fred. Ahead of the curve as usual. Judy Thomas had this on a connection with the Kansas militia too:

Morris Wilson, commander of the Kansas Unorganized Citizens Militia in the mid-1990s, said he knew Roeder fairly well.
"I'd say he's a good ol' boy except he was just so fanatic about abortion," said Wilson, who now lives in western Nebraska. "He was always talking about how awful abortion was. But there's a lot of people who think abortion is awful."

http://www.kansas.com/news/tiller/story/834448.html

by Lee Cokorinos on Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 06:26:03 PM EST


No one appears to have picked up the link between Roeder and The Prophecy Club since I wrote about this in my Conspiracy as Prophecy articles.  According to his divorce records, Roeder was employed by them.  The Prophecy Club became an intersection between the Religious Right and the extreme Right and was also a source for distribution and radio broadcasting of 1990s conspiracy theories like the FEMA concentration camps and the "red and blue lists" of Christian Patriots to be executed.

The Prophecy Club speakers have included both Christian Zionists and overt anti-Semites like Texe Marrs and  Fritz Springmeier. If you go to Texe Marrs website, he is now featuring the book "Rothschild's Choice: Barack Obama and the Hidden Cabal Behind the Plot to Murder America." Former military officers Al Cuppett, James Linzey, Jim Ammerman and Gen. Ben Partin were featured on The Prophecy Club speaking tours and videos, and became the "authorities" behind anti-government conspiracy theories which are now re-emerging on the internet. These conspiracies are marketed as biblical prophecy and some of the participants, like Col. Jim Ammerman, are still well-respected figures in the Religious Right.

Roeder's Johnson Co. Kansas records include his divorce file 96CV05915.

by Rachel Tabachnick on Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 07:44:50 PM EST



WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.