1986: White Supremacist Church Official Fires on Lost Couple

Carl Messick, the “security chief” of the Church of the Creator (COTC—see 1973 and 1982-1983), fires 19 shots at the car of a Georgia couple who accidentally drive onto the COTC grounds. Messick will later be sentenced to seven years in prison. This is the first reported problem a COTC member has with the law. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999]