May 1996 and After: White Supremacist Church Restarts in Montana

Matthew Hale, attempting to revive and expand the nearly-defunct Church of the Creator (COTC—see 1973 and July-December 1995), joins with two old COTC members, Matthew Hayhow (see August 1990) and Guy Lombardi, and convenes a gathering at the Montana ranch of COTC leader leader Slim Deardorff. Hale is elected Pontifex Maximus (supreme leader), and Jonathan Viktor, a devotee of COTC founder Ben Klassen, is chosen Hastus Primus, or vice president, of the reconstituted group, now officially named the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC). Hale is successful at revitalizing the organization, aggressively marketing it through pamphlets, newsletters, Web sites, a public access television show, and highly publicized public meetings. Perhaps its most popular publication is a 32-page booklet entitled “Facts that the Government and the Media Don’t Want You to Know,” which many people find on their porches and in their driveways. The booklet, written by Hale, denigrates nonwhites and promotes anti-Semitic theories about Jewish control of the media, the so-called “Kosher Food Tax,” and material allegedly demonstrating the biological superiority of whites. Unlike many white supremacist organizations, Hale works to reach out to women and children, offering far more recognition and involvement to women than other, similar movements. Hale himself is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]