- Date:
- 1976 - 1985
- Areas Of Involvement:
- Christianity
- antisemitism
- terrorism
- white supremacy
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
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What was The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord?
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a white supremacist militia group active in the late 1970s and 1980s. Founded by James Ellison in Arkansas in 1970, it began as a survivalist Christian group named Zarephath-Horeb.
In 1979, the group embraced Christian Identity, a white supremacist theology, and changed its name to reflect its increasingly militant views. The CSA engaged in various criminal activities, including weapons sales and the distribution of hate literature. Following the death of white supremacist Gordon Kahl in 1983, CSA members plotted terrorist acts, such as assassinating government officials and bombing a natural-gas pipeline. In April 1985, federal agents besieged the CSA compound, leading to the group's dissolution and the imprisonment of Ellison and his second-in-command on racketeering and illegal weapons charges.
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Where and when did this group exist?
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), a white supremacist militia group, was active in the late 1970s and 1980s. Based in Arkansas, the CSA was founded in 1970 by James Ellison as a small survivalist Christian group named Zarephath-Horeb.
In 1979, the group adopted Christian Identity, a white supremacist theology, and intensified paramilitary training. Members of other white supremacist groups, such as Aryan Nations, visited the CSA compound for training. In April 1985, federal agents besieged the CSA compound, leading to the group's dissolution after a four-day standoff. Ellison and his second-in-command were sentenced to prison on racketeering and illegal weapons charges.
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What were the beliefs of the group?
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a white supremacist militia group active in the late 1970s and 1980s. Founded by James Ellison in Arkansas in 1970, the group initially was a small survivalist Christian group called Zarephath-Horeb.
In 1979, Ellison adopted Christian Identity, a white supremacist theology. The group then intensified paramilitary training and changed its name to reflect its militant outlook. The CSA sold weapons, distributed hate literature, and plotted terrorist acts. They planned to assassinate government officials who had prosecuted Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota white supremacist who had killed two U.S. marshals.
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What activities was this group involved in?
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a white supremacist militia group active in the late 1970s and 80s. Founded by James Ellison, the CSA evolved from a survivalist Christian group into a militant organization espousing white supremacist theology.
The CSA was involved in various criminal activities, including weapons sales and the distribution of hate literature. Following the death of white supremacist Gordon Kahl in 1983, CSA members plotted assassinations of government officials and engaged in arson and bombings, targeting a church and a Jewish center. In 1985, a standoff with federal agents led to the group's dissolution and the imprisonment of its leaders on racketeering and weapons charges.
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How did the authorities respond to the group’s actions?
Federal authorities responded to the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA)'s activities by besieging the group’s compound for four days in 1985. This standoff marked the first time that federal authorities confronted a well-equipped militia group. The siege ended through negotiations without violence, leading to James Ellison's surrender. Subsequently, Ellison and his second-in-command, Kerry Noble, received prison sentences in 1985 on racketeering and illegal weapons charges.
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What impact did this group have on law enforcement and society?
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), a white supremacist militia active in the late 1970s and 80s, significantly impacted law enforcement and society through its criminal activities and extremist ideology.
The CSA, founded by James Ellison, initially began as a survivalist Christian group but later embraced Christian Identity, a white supremacist theology. This shift led to paramilitary training, weapons sales, and the distribution of hate literature. Their terrorist plots included planned assassinations of government officials and attacks on a church, a Jewish center, and a natural-gas pipeline.
The CSA's activities culminated in a standoff with federal agents in 1985, which highlighted the challenges law enforcement faced with well-equipped militia groups. The group dissolved after the standoff, and Ellison and other members were imprisoned on racketeering and weapons charges. Despite its dissolution, the CSA contributed to the broader rise of white supremacy and right-wing extremism in the United States.
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The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), white supremacist militia group based in Arkansas, U.S., that was active in the late 1970s and the ’80s. The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was connected to a number of crimes and terrorist plots in the 1980s. It dissolved after U.S. federal agents besieged the group’s compound for four days in 1985.
The CSA was started by James Ellison in Arkansas as a small survivalist Christian group called Zarephath-Horeb; it was founded in 1970, according to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the 1980s . Heeding Ellison’s apocalyptic preaching, the group raised its own food and hoarded weapons on its 224-acre (91-hectare) compound in northern Arkansas. Racism was not a major component of the group’s outlook until 1979, when Ellison adopted Christian Identity, a white supremacist theology. The group intensified paramilitary training at the compound and changed its name to reflect its new militant outlook. Members of other white supremacist groups, such as Aryan Nations and The Order, began to visit the CSA compound for training.
CSA members sold weapons, distributed hate literature, and engaged in other criminal activity. They began to plot terrorist acts after Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota white supremacist who had killed two U.S. marshals in a shoot-out in February 1983, died in a federal raid several months later, thereby making him a martyr for the extreme right. CSA members planned to assassinate government officials who had prosecuted Kahl before his death, including a judge, an FBI agent, and a U.S. attorney. The assassinations were never carried out, but members of the group went on a crime spree in late 1983 that included setting fires in an Arkansas church with a largely homosexual congregation and in a Jewish centre and attempting to bomb a natural-gas pipeline. These attacks revealed CSA members to be largely ineffectual guerrilla fighters; only minor damage was inflicted at each site. The day after the attempted pipeline attack, a CSA member, Richard Wayne Snell, killed the owner of a pawnshop who he believed to be Jewish. In 1984 Snell killed a black Arkansas state trooper and was captured by authorities.
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On April 19, 1985, more than 300 federal agents and other police surrounded the CSA compound, believing that David Tate, a member of The Order, was heading there after having gunned down a Missouri state trooper. The resulting standoff, the first time federal authorities confronted a well-equipped militia group, lasted four days. It was resolved through negotiations and without violence, and Ellison was among those who surrendered. (Tate was eventually located and arrested in Missouri.) Ellison and his second-in-command, Kerry Noble, were sentenced in 1985 to prison on racketeering and illegal weapons charges.