The Order / Brüder Schweigen (Robert Mathews, 1983–84)
White-supremacist Christian Identity terror group founded by Robert Mathews (1983). Conducted multiple armoured-car robberies and the 1984 Alan Berg murder. Mathews killed in FBI siege December 1984. Subject of Steve Earle's song and many academic studies.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+2 for documented bank robberies, counterfeiting, and the 1984 Alan Berg murder.
In context
The Order ('Brüder Schweigen' — Silent Brotherhood) was a Christian-Identity-inspired terror group whose 1983–84 crime spree included multiple armoured-car robberies, counterfeiting, and the June 1984 assassination of Denver Jewish radio host Alan Berg. Mathews died in a December 1984 FBI siege on Whidbey Island. Surviving members were prosecuted; the group is defunct but remains a paradigmatic case in white-supremacist terror studies.
Key control doctrines
- Christian Identity ideology
- Brotherhood oath
- Race-war preparation
Legal cases & controversies
- 1984 Alan Berg murder
- 1985 RICO prosecutions
Timeline
- 1983The Order founded by Mathews
- 1984-06Alan Berg assassinated
- 1984-12Mathews killed in FBI Whidbey Island siege
Sources
- Kevin Flynn & Gary Gerhardt, 'The Silent Brotherhood' (1989)
- DOJ case records
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.