Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction into Right-Wing Extremism, Second Edition

1. The Siege Begins

7 1 The Siege Begins Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil: my cup runs over . . . —Psalms 23:4, 5 “Snipers!” came the scream of a frightened man. “Kerry!” the voice yelled, as the pounding on the door continued. “Wake up! Wake up!” Go away! I thought. It was April 20, 1985. I was hoping the last six days, especially the previous one, had been a dream. I looked at the clock. Six o’clock in the morning. Jesus! My wife, Kay, let the armed, camouflage-clothed soldier in. “Yeah?” I asked as the man entered our bedroom. “Snipers. All around us. Must’ve come in during the night. Two of our men were walking their rounds near the perimeter right before dawn. They accidentally came upon one of the snipers, who then ordered our men to return to camp. Now we can see several of them from the bunkers and north guard tower. James wants you to go out there and speak to them.” “Okay. I’ll be at James’ house in a few minutes.” I dressed in civilian clothing instead of an American-camouflage uniform like the morning messenger had on. No need to spook whoever was out there. “I’ll have breakfast ready for you when you return,” Kay offered, the concern on her face evident. She was doing well to not cry. I left to go to James Ellison’s house. I felt like I’d been fasting for a week; I was mentally and emotionally numb, and tired. I just wanted 8 | The End Begins it all to end. It was Ellison who had brought us to this. The arrest warrant was for him. No one else. It was obvious who was out there and what they wanted. It wasn’t like we hadn’t been warned. Why wouldn’t he just surrender? To make things worse, five of our men had been unable to return from town the day before. They had been stopped by the roadblock and refused entrance. It was Saturday morning. Our Sabbath. As I walked to Ellison’s house, armed men were scurrying to various bunker positions, trenches and foxholes. Panic was obvious in their voices. I mentally pictured where some of the other men might be—one in the communications building, maybe one on the tower, two or three in the munitions building, one or two trying to comfort the women and children, several with Ellison or simply walking guard. Then I tried to imagine where the enemy might be: snipers all around us, both roads cut off with vehicles, law-enforcement officers posted throughout the woods. “It looks like they got their men positioned about every ten to fifteen yards, completely surrounding us,” one of our scouts was telling James, as I entered Ellison’s kitchen. Eight men, each armed with rifle and pistol and wearing the standard American camouflage uniforms , stood around James, waiting for orders. The table was covered with guns. “What are we gonna do?” one of the young zealots questioned. “Are we gonna kill us some feds today?” another demanded. “I’m ready!” a third proudly interjected. “Been looking forward to this for a long time now. Let the war begin! It’ll be a tribute to Hitler’s birthday! We’ll teach them not to mess with CSA.” The other men laughed with heightened anticipation. I couldn’t help but notice the contrast between the unstable men and the unemotional weapons. Still another man, the anxiety showing in his voice, asked, “How many do you think are out there, James?” Ellison quietly continued cleaning the guns, the gears turning in his head. He was always quick to listen and slow to speak. This time, however, he didn’t even respond to the question. Ollie, James’ wife, The Siege Begins | 9 was trying to serve him breakfast. She was accustomed to several men being in her kitchen early in the mornings, though it still bothered her. “Obviously,” James finally said as he meticulously cleaned a rifle. “We knew this was coming. I guess this is it.” Ellison looked down the barrel of the rifle. “I suspect the snipers have night vision...