Dangerous Convictions for PDF - ADL

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Dangerous
Convictions:
AN INTRODUCTION TO EXTREMIST ACTIVITIES IN PRISONS
In a similar vein, right-wing extremist and Christian Identity adherent
Michael Mugrage told readers of the newspaper Jubilee in 1994, “We have run
out of cheeks to turn, folks. It’s easy to do nothing and pretend that it will all
go away, but those who do so will end up in chains or dead…we must do what
is right—which entails deeds—not words. For the Love of YAHWEH, prepare
yourselves for the coming struggle.” Christian Identity is a racist and
anti-Semitic religious sect whose members believe that whites are the descendants
of the Lost Tribes of Israel and are God’s chosen people; many also
believe that Jews are descended from Satan. In the 1990s, many Christian
Identity adherents waged war against the government and other hated symbols
such as abortion clinics. One Identity believer, Willie Ray Lampley, an
Oklahoma militia leader, plotted in 1995 to bomb a series of targets ranging
from abortion clinics to Anti-Defamation League offices. Convicted on
weapons and explosives charges, he was still defiant five years later, writing an
article for the American’s Bulletin in which he told readers that “You will either
fight for your freedom, or else you will die as a SLAVE! YOU WILL EITHER
OBEY YAHWEH, OR ELSE YOU WILL DIE THE DEATH! SO BE IT,
HALLELUYAH! PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNI-
TION!”
Members of anti-government movements such as the sovereign citizen and tax
protest movements are just as likely to remain active while behind bars. Leroy
Schweitzer, leader of the Montana Freemen, received a 22 1/2-year sentence
on fraud, conspiracy and other charges following his 81-day standoff with the
FBI near Jordan, Montana, in 1996. Since arriving at a federal penitentiary
in South Carolina, he restarted his paper terrorism tactics, teaching a variety
of convicts how to file bogus liens against public officials, attorneys and others.
Prisoner John Robert Hasson, a jewel dealer serving a 40-year sentence
on money laundering and obstruction of justice charges, used Schweitzer’s tactics
to file a $1.5 billion lien against the judge in his case and $750 million
liens against lawyers representing a party suing Hasson. Other students of
Schweitzer in the past year who have filed liens, usually for $100,000,000
each, have convictions that include solicitation to commit murder, armed robbery,
and a variety of narcotics charges. Under Schweitzer’s tutelage, however,
they have become “conservators of peace” and “justices.”