Friday, March 22, 2013
The Aryan Republican Army and the OKC Bombing
The Aryan Republican Army, Elohim City, and the OKC Bombing
by Charles Richardson (nom de plume)
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"When they (the FBI) find out what I've really been doing
the past two years, they'll really be surprised."
--Pete 'Commander Pedro' Langan, '96
THE ARYAN REPUBLICAN ARMY
=========================
In 1984, Robert Jay Matthews died in a shootout with police
on Whidby Island, which is located just off the coast of
Washington state. Matthews was the leader of a far-Right
wing group calling itself The Order. This group was
responsible for a number of bank and armored car robberies
in the Pacific Northwest, netting them almost $4 million.
In other exploits, Order members bombed synagogues and
assassinated Alan Berg, a Jewish radio talk show host in
Denver. The group ended with the death of Matthews and the
imprisonment of other members. [2]
A new and disturbing terrorist sect, similiar in nature to
The Order, has emerged in the United States. It is modeled
after the 'The Order' and The Irish Republican Army and is
adopting the IRA structure of impenetrable underground
cells. Calling itself the Aryan Republican Army, the group
represents the most paramilitary and radical of the
American neo-Nazi movement. It is committed to the
overthrow of the US government, the extermination of
America's Jews, and the establishment of an "Aryan
Republic" on the North American continent. "We call
ourselves the Aryan Republican Army because in some of our
tactics, and some of our goals, we have modeled the
organization after the successful and yet undefeated Irish
Republican Army," said Commander Pedro [1], in a self-made
video titled ``The Aryan Republican Army Presents: The
Armed Struggle Underground.'' [4] In the video, Langan also
advocates that "Federal buildings may have to be bombed and
civilian loss of life is regrettable but expected."
The FBI discovered this terrorist cell by accident earlier
this year while investigating a string of 18 bank robberies
in the Mid West. [1] The bank bandits made off with upwards
of $500,000 before the FBI caught on to them.
With a tip from a confidential informant, the FBI was able
to pinpoint one of the bank robbers, Richard Lee Guthrie
Jr., member of the Aryan Republican Army. Guthrie was
arrested on Jan 15, 1996. Two days after his arrest,
Guthrie told FBI agents they could find co-conspirator Pete
"Commander Pedro" Langan in a duplex at 585 Reinhard Ave.
on the South Side. On Jan 18, 1996, agents surrounded the
house and arrested Langan after a brief shootout. [2]
Guthrie struck a plea bargain with the authorities and
fingered Scott Stedeford, Kevin McCarthy, and Aryan Nations
leader Mark Thomas, as accomplices in the bank robberies,
all of whom have since been arrested by the authorities.
McCarthy plead guilty to three robberies and agreed to
testify against the others, while Stedeford was convicted
of bank robbery in Iowa in November 1996 (and faces thirty
years in prison). Langan was convicted in Columbus, Ohio,
on February 10, 1997. Richard Lee Guthrie was found hanged
in his jail cell shortly after he struck a plea bargain
and fingered the other Aryan accomplices.
Mark Thomas was brought up on charges by a Grand Jury. The
Grand Jury indictment says Thomas "recruited young people
at his residence....to rob banks and commit other crimes on
behalf of the Aryan Republican Army," [3]
Thomas has since said he believed McCarthy, a skinhead he
once described as a son, was an accomplice in the Oklahoma
City bombing. He said Richard Guthrie told him as much in
July 1995.
"His exact words were: 'Your young Mr. Wizard took out the
Murrah Building,'" Thomas said. [3]
On February 18, 1997, Thomas plead guilty to conspiracy
charges of plotting seven (of twenty-two) bank robberies
and using the funds to further the cause of the Aryan
Republican Army.
Also arrested on Jan 30, 1997 in connection with the case
was Michael Brescia of Philadelphia. Typical of the gang's
robbiers, authorities say, was a bank heist in Madison,
Wis., on Aug. 30, 1995. Brescia carried a black-powder pipe
bomb into a Bank One branch and threatened customers and
employees with a 9mm pistol, and proceeded to rob the bank
of $9,845. [4] Internet postings and a civil suit by some
survivors of the bombing have accused Brescia of being an
accomplice in the Oklahoma City Bombing.
Aside from robbing banks, the terrorist cell stockpiled
weapons and ammunition, and had every opportunity to
orchestrate a terrorist bombing. The FBI captured a
shoulder-fired rocket launcher, Semtex explosives,
hand-grenade canisters, 11 pipe-bombs, and an arsenal of
guns. "These people had a support system. They had
safe-houses and very good false documents," said Mike
Reynolds, senior intelligence analyst at the Southern
Poverty Law Centre, which monitors Right-wing violence
across the country. "They were clearly preparing for
something beyond bank robberies." [1] Among other items
seized from a storage locker belonging to the group was the
Irish Republican Army handbook, a terrorist manual known in
Ireland as the Green Book, along with an assortment of
books on the Irish struggle including A Little History of
Ireland by Seamus MacCall and cassette tapes of a Gaelic
language course. [1]
ELOHIM CITY - BASE OF OPERATIONS
================================
Elohim City is a 400-acre compound located near Muldrow,
Oklahoma, about thirty-five miles northwest of Fort Smith,
Arkansas. It was founded in 1973 by Robert Millar, a
Canadian who preaches that white Anglo-Saxons are God's
chosen people, non-whites are descendants of pre-Adamic
species lower than whites, and Jews are Satan's children.
Two dozen of Millar's 34 grandchildren reside at Elohim
City, making up about a quarter of the resident population.
Elohim City is considered a hotbed of terrorist activity.
Members of the Aryan Republican Army used the seperatist
compound as a base of operations in the years before the
bombing.
In 1994, Michael Brescia moved to Elohim City where he
shared a one-story house behind the compound's chapel with
Andreas Strassmeir, a former German army lietenant and head
of security at Elohim City. By the time Brescia left Elohim
City in 1995, investigators say, he, Stedeford, Guthrie,
and McCarthy were active in the Aryan Republican Army. [4]
STRASSMIER -- HEAD OF SECURITY FOR ELOHIM CITY
==============================================
As of yet, Strassmier has not been identified as a member
of the Aryan Republican Army, however, he was friends with
Brescia and various members of the Aryan Underground.
According to Robert Millar, "Strassmier and Brescia were
buddies." In a phone interview with John Cash, Strassmeir
said he liked Brescia because ``he had a lot of
self-confidence'' and was ``a smart guy''. [20] Strassmier
also trained members of the Aryan Nations at Elohim City,
and provided instruction in security measures. According to
ATF Informant Carol Howe, "Strassmeir talked frequently
about direct action against the U.S. government, he trained
in weaponry, and he discussed assassinations, bombings and
mass shootings." [20]
Just Who is Andy the German?
Andreas Carl Strassmier is the son of Guenter Strassmeir,
"the architect of German reunification" who was once a top
aide to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Andreas Strassmeir
spent seven years in the German army, serving with the
Panzer Grenadiers and an elite German intelligence unit
whose purpose was to feed disinformation to East-German
Communist-bloc agents.
Strassmeir told the London Telegraph that "I've never
worked for any U.S government agency, and I've not been
involved in any intelligence operation since my discharge
from the German army in 1988." But he acknowledged he first
lived in the U.S. in 1989 because "I was hoping to work for
the operations section of the DEA. It never worked out."
More revealingly, he noted that "the right-wing in the U.S.
is incredibly easy to penetrate if you know how to talk to
them. Of course it's easier for a foreigner with an accent.
Nobody would ever suspect a German of working for the
federal government."
Strassmeir was assisted in his unsucessful attempts to get
jobs with the DEA or INS by Vinvent Petruskie, a retired
Air Force Colonel and (Strassmeir says) CIA agent for whom
Strassmeir arranged to buy used Boeing 747s from Lufthansa.
Strassmeir received a social security number in 1989 in
Virginia, and obtained a Tennessee driver's license in
1992, using a Knoxville address provided by his attorney
Kirk Lyons. In 1991 some members of the Texas Light
Infantry Brigade, a citizen's militia, followed Strassmeir
to a federal building and observed him entering it at night
using the key-pad. [20, 22]
After obtaining false documentation and a drivers license,
Strassmier was still unable to find a job (other than
government informant). Because Andy could not legally
obtain a job, and because of his apparant intrests in
'alternative lifestyles', Andy moved to Elohim City in
1993. At that time, he had lived in the United States
illegally for five years.
Zara Patterson III, a long time resident of Elohim City,
summed up Strassmeir's intentions as equally ominous. "From
the moment Andy got here (mid-August 1991) all he wanted us
to do was illegal stuff. I had to keep telling Andy that we
were defensive here... not offensive. I had to keep telling
him that we didn't want any trouble with the Feds."
"I never saw anyone so eaten up with military stuff as Andy
was," recalled Zara Patterson III. "I was in the Marines,
but Andy was like nothing I ever saw before. He said he
wanted to take over security and training here at EC, and I
said fine. It was one less headache for me."
According to an FBI intelligence report, Strassmeir's spent
his time at Elohim City fortifying and operating a
terrorist training facility.
A May 10, 1995 FBI investigative report says:
"Strassmeir is alleged to be a German citizen whose father
was a former member of the German parliament. Strassmeir
was a member of the German military and according to
sources the principal militia trainer at Elohim City."
"Strassmeir has an outstanding federal warrant issued by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) since
failing to leave this country in 1991.
"Strassmeir is alleged to train platoon-sized groups
consisting of approximately 30 to 40 individuals
approximately every three months at the Elohim City
facility. These individuals are comprised of members of
various militia groups throughout the United States."
"Additional documents reveal that at one time Strassmeir
was attempting to purchase a 747 aircraft from Lufthansa;
however the reason for the purchase is not reflected in the
documents."
"Sources have advised that in 1992 Elohim City had
approximately 122 truck loads of concrete transported from
a local concrete company. Sources have indicated the
existence of 'bunkers' and weapons storage facilities at
Elohim City."
In a Jan. 2, 1996 interview, Strassmeir admits to
upgrading the Elohim City arsenal.
"They're pretty fully equipped over there (Elohim City)
and I can take credit for that," he said. "They never even
had any real weapons there until after Waco (1993). The
whole response was to Waco... they thought they were going
to be targeted."
Strassmier remained at Elohim City until the Oklahoma City
Bombing, at which time he left the compound with fellow
Elomites Pete and Tony Ward. In a letter to the McCurtain
Gazette from Strassmeir's attorney, Kurt Lyons, Lyons says
his client's sudden departure from the U.S. was aided by
members of Germany's elite counterterrorism unit, GSG-9.
Dennis Mahon, Tulsa representative of the White Aryan
Resisitence, has named the Ward brothers as being possible
OKC Bombing accomplices. When shown an artist's sketch done
by ABC News of the person that a witness in Kansas said
used the name of Bob Kling, Mahon didn't hesitate, "That's
Pete Ward." [11]
"Ward," Mahon explained, "was known at Elohim City as
'Andy's shadow'...Ward went everywhere Strassmeir did and
is dumb as dirt."
THE FIRST PLOT
==============
"It has the potential, down the road, of being the most dangerous
group (Elohim City) in the country."
--Terry Nobles (former member of Covenant, Sword, Arm of the Lord)
Residents of Elohim City being connected with plots that
were intended to blow up the Murrah building did not begin
with the Aryan Republican Army. On April 19th, 1985,
exactly ten years before the bombing of the Murrah building
the FBI and ATF raided members of James Ellison's Covenant,
Sword, and Arm of the Lord group. Ellison is now married to
Reverend Robert Millar's granddaughter and lives at Elohim
City.
The 1985 raid on Elohim City became a siege that lasted
four days before members of the group surrendered to
authorities. After the raid, while preparing a sedition
case against Ellison, U.S. Assistant attourney Steven N.
Snyder, in Fort Smith, Arkansas learned that a plot to blow
up the building had existed as early as 1983. [13] Ellison
admitted in court that he had been involved in a plot to
bomb the Murrah Building. Another member of conspirator in
the 1983 bombing plan was Terry Nobles, now an anti-neo
nazi activist. Nobles said "In 1983 we cased the [Murrah]
building, and made plans to blow up that building." [23]
Richard Wayne Snell, another member of the Covenant, was a
co-conspirator with Ellison and Nobles. Snell has since
been convicted and put to death for the murder of a black
police officer and a businessman he believed to be jewish.
[14] Richard Wayne Snell was executed on April 19th, 1995.
The Denver Post reported Arkansas prison official Alan
Ables as saying that before Snell's execution on the day of
the bombing he had "repeatedly predicted that there would
be a bombing or explosion on the day of his death." Snell
also reportedly "chuckled and laughed as he watched
television coverage of the Oklahoma City disaster." [13]
THE KEHOE CONNECTION
====================
On July 17, 1997, a $20 million bond was set by an Ohio
Judge for Chevie Kehoe, former resident of Elohim City. [27]
Kehoe was detained for questioning in the slayings of
Tilly, Ark., gun dealer David Mueller his wife Nancy, and
her daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Powell, 8. The three
disappeared in January 1996. Their decomposed bodies were
dredged from the Illinois Bayou near Russellville, Ark. [15]
Kehoe is believed to have used a .223-caliber rifle, stolen
from Meuller, when he fired 26 shots during the second
shootout with two Wilmington police officers at the Clinton
Electrical and Plumbing Supply. The reader may recognized
this shootout as it has been featured on primetime tv's
'Cops', 'World's Scariest Police Shootouts', and 'PrimeTime
Live.'
Chevie Kehoe was assisted in the shootout by his brother,
Cheyne Kehoe. Both brothers had spent time at Elohim City.
Robert Millar, the bearded patriarch of this so-called
"Christian Identity" compound, confirms that the brothers
had lived at Elohim City, along with four of the
Pennsylvania men indicted earlier this year in the ARA bank
robberies. [16]
In recent news, The FBI is investigating claims by a former
motel manager who says that Chevie Kehoe, member of the
ARA, may have known months in advance of Timothy McVeigh's
plans to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building.
The FBI has interviewed the motel manager, who said Chevie
Kehoe showed up at the Spokane motel on April 19, 1995,
about 45 minutes before the bombing, and said he wanted to
watch CNN. He reportedly was ecstatic when a news bulletin
reported the blast. [15]
The Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane reported Friday
that the hotel manager said Kehoe said "it was about time''
after the explosion was reported. "Days before that, he had
mentioned to me that there's going to be something
happening on the 19th and it's going to wake people up,''
the manager told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
ARA/ELOHIM CITY LINKS TO MCVEIGH AND FORITER
============================================
What makes this Aryan Army cell so menacing is the growing
body of evidence that its members were in contact with Tim
McVeigh, the prime suspect in the bombing of the Oklahoma
federal building in April 1995.
McVeigh telephoned Andreas Strassmier at Elohim City on
April 5, 1995, just minutes after reserving the truck
allegedly used in the bombing. [8,9] On October 12, 1993
McVeigh was stopped for speeding on the secluded road to
Elohim City. [10] Why did McVeigh call Elohim City to speak
to Strassmier? What was McVeigh doing so close to the
'patriot' community at Elohim City?
Even the spiritual leader of Elohim City, Robert Mollar,
has verified that Michael Fortier had visited Elohim City.
From an interview on KOKH-TV OKC, Robert Mollar was asked
if Michael Fortier had ever been to Elohim City. His
response, "He might have been here for two or three days. I
can't answer you. I would think it would be before the
bombing or shortly after. Right in that time frame." [6]
Confirming Robert Mollar's testimony is Department of
Alchohol Tobacco and Firearms Confidential Informant, Carol
Howe. Among her more than 70 reports to the ATF were
warnings that two Elohim City subjects were casing three
Oklahoma federal buildings-- and preparing for a subsequent
bombing. Howe said it was during this December, 1994,
period that Timothy McVeigh and Mike Fortier visited. [12]
"Sometime before Christmas a lot of guys showed up at EC
(Elohim City). One that I recall was Tim (McVeigh), who I
only knew as Tim Tuttle. He was there with a guy who used
the name Fontaine, a person I now recognize as Mike
Fortier." [12]
Placing even MORE credence to this theory is the court
testimony of Michael Fortier. When Nichols Defense Lawyer
Michael Tigar asked Fortier "..you said that you were
fearful of reprisals from the Aryan movement if you
testified against Timothy McVeigh; correct?", Fortier
answered in the affirmitive, "that is correct." [7]
In yet another strange turn of events, Timothy McVeigh's
sister said in a sworn statement dated May 2, 1995, that
Tim gave her (3) $100.00 bills and asked that they be
exchanged for 'clean money' because, her brother said, the
bills were "from a recent bank robbery in which he and
others had participated." [17]
Another confirmation of this comes from Terry Nichols.
While being questioned on April 21st, after he turned
himself in at the Kansas police station, Nichols seemed to
think that McVeigh was going to rob a bank. The transcripts
of the FBI questionining indicate something very peculiar
about Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh's April 16th, 1995
trip from Oklahoma City to Herington, Kansas. Nichols said
that on April 16th, Timothy McVeigh told him "You will see
something big in the future." Nichols asked, "What are you
going to do, rob a bank?" [18] What this does indicate, is
that Terry Nichols did wasn't aware of a bombing in the
making, but he was familiar with McVeigh's links to
robbery. Why else would Nichols think of bank robbery right
away, unless he was already familiar with McVeigh's links
to such robbery?
Other circumstances include that when McVeigh was arrested
by State Trooper Charles Hanger, he had 2,000 cash on him.
[19] He hadn't had a job in six months. Later information
revealed the the unemployed McVeigh had over $10,000 hidden
away in a number of bank accounts, and several thousand
dollars stashed in storage units. [5]
In 1992, Catina Lawson, who lived in Herington, Kansas,
remembers seeing Strassmeir along with Timothy McVeigh,
whom she dated. Lawson recalled that Strassmeir "liked to
dress in black, and he was real cold and arrogant--a real
jerk." Two other witnesses, Larry and Cathy Wild, say they
saw and talked with Strassmeir at a lake north of Herington
the week before the OKC bombing [21]
STRASSMIER, BRESCIA, MCVEIGH CELEBRATE
======================================
When he wasn't robbing banks and training with members of
the Aryan Republican Army, Michael Brescia apparently
celebrated at a strip club or two. Five women at a Lady
Godiva's of Tulsa have identified Michael Brescia as the
man they saw sitting with Tim McVeigh - and paying for the
drinks - on April 8, 1995, 11 days before the bombing. [1]
On a program called "The Fifth Estate," the Canadian
counterpart to this country's "Sixty Minutes," reporters
obtained portions of a security video taken at Lady
Godivas, the Tulsa Strip club. John Cash, of the McCurtain
Gazette has also followed up on this story and acquired a
copy of the video tape.
The videotape was taken in the dressing room of Lady
Godiva's on the night of April 8, 1995. A dancer is clearly
heard saying, "And he said, 'I'm a very smart man.'....
'You are?'.... 'Yes, I am.'.... 'And on April 19, 1995,
you'll remember me for the rest of your life!'" Laughing,
she says, "Oh, really?" "Yes you will," she says he
responded. [25] Smiling wide, the dancer starts to walk out
of the dressing room where the security camera was located,
then turns back to the other girls and says, "Weirdo,"
before returning out front. Today it can be revealed that
from photographs, witnesses at the club identified the man
doing the bragging as Timothy McVeigh, and those seated
with him as Michael Brescia, and his former Elohim City
roommate, Andreas Strassmeir. [26] The witnesses from the
topless club agreed to appear on that Canadian TV segment,
identifying the photos. [25] The FBI has reviewed a copy of
the video from the club and has also interviewed the same
witnesses featured in the CBC program, but the Justice
Department has made no official comment on what they intend
to do with the evidence. Since then, one of the witnesses,
Shawn Tea Farrens, 23, was found dead in her apartment
(September 1996)
END OF ARTICLE
Footnotes:
[1] Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The London Telegraph, Issue 564
[2] Robert Ruth, "Friend's Tip To FBI led to Arrests In Bank Bandits
Case", The Columbus Dispatch, 12-04-96
[3] John P. Martin, "Thomas Indicted in Bank Robberies", The Morning
Call, 01-31-97
[4] Mark Fazlollah, "Eagle Scout was soldier for far right", The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 02-28-97
[5] Lawrence Myers, Media Bypass, 06-95
[6] KOKC, Oklahoma City TV, Robert Mollar Interview, 04-02-97
[7] Terry Nichols Trial Transcripts
[8] Peter Annin and Tom Morganthau, "Blowing Smoke," Newsweek, 02-19-96
[9] Timothy McVeigh Trial, "Darryl Bridges" calling card exhibit
[10] Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, "Did Agents Bungle US Terror Bomb?",
London Sunday Telegraph, 05-19-96
[11] John Cash, "Confessions of a Revolutionary", McCurtain Gazette,
04-01-97
[12] John Cash, "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", McCurtain Gazette,
02/11/97
[13] Kelly Kurt, Monterey County (California) Herald, Associated Press,
05/20/95
[14] Reuters, 02-08-96
[15] Mark Jewell, "FBI investigating new lead in Oklahoma City Bombing",
Associated Press, 01-17-98
[16] William Jasper, The New American Magazine, 03/31/97
[17] Pierre Thomas, "McVeigh's Sisters Says he Robbed, Carried
Explosives", Washington Post reported in San Fransisco Chronicle,
07-19-95
[18] Patrick E. Cole, "What Nichols Revealed", Time Magazine, 10-06-97
[19] David Johnston, "Just Before He Was To Be Freed, Prime Bombing
Suspect Is Identified in Jail", New York Times, 04-22-95
[20] John Cash, "Strassmeir Helped Fortify, Arm Elohim City Bunkers",
McCurtain Gazette, 04-13-97
[21] Laura Frank, "Oklahoma Probe May Touch Tennessee," The
Tennessean, 06-30-96
[22] Orlin Grabbe, "Oklahoma City, Government-Paid Neo-Nazis, and the
FCC", http://www.taci.net/kalliste
[23] Chris Hansen, "City of Secrets", NBC Dateline, 05-30-97
[24] David Hoffman, "Family on Quest for Answers Meets Harassment,
Intimidation", The Washington Weekly, 04/21/97
[25] "The Fifth Estate", The Canadian Broadcasting Company, 10-22-96
[26] John Cash, "Is A Videotape From A Tulsa Topless Bar The "Smoking
Gun" In Oklahoma Bombing?", McCurtain Daily Gazette, 09-25-96
[27] The Militia Watchdog, http://www.militia-watchdog.com, 12-12-97
[28] Judy Thomas, Kansas City Star, Sunday, 03-17-96.
"I think there are other people out there and suspicions
were probably made very early on that Tim McVeigh and Terry
Nichols were who they were looking for, and the same sort
of resources were not used to try to find out who else
might be involved."
--Nicki Deutchmann, Terry Nichols Jury Foreman
"Witnesses who saw Timothy McVeigh with John Doe 2 or
other suspects were not allowed to testify before the
Federal Grand Jury."
--Hoppy Heidelberg, OKC Bombing Federal Grand Jury member
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(c) 1997 Charles Richardson - (*) free to distribute nonprofit under the
condition that this file is not modified in any way and all notes and
sources are attributed.
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Believe nothing merely because you have been told it... Do not believe
what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But
whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind,
conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings -- that
doctrine believe and cling to and take it as your guide.
-- Buddha
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