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Elohim City, Oklahoma

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Elohim City[Note 1] (also known as Elohim City Inc.[2] and Elohim Village) is a private community in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The 400 acres (1.6 km2) rural retreat was founded in 1973 by Robert G. Millar, a Canadian immigrant, former Mennonite, and "one of the most important leaders" in America's Christian Identity movement, a theology common to an assortment of right-wing extremist groups.[3][4] The community gained national attention for its ties to members of The Order in the 1980s, as well as with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s.[3][5]

Elohim City, Oklahoma
Private community
A sign warning the public
A sign warning the public
Elohim City, Oklahoma is located in Oklahoma
Elohim City, Oklahoma
Elohim City, Oklahoma
Elohim City, Oklahoma is located in the United States
Elohim City, Oklahoma
Elohim City, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 35°38′34″N 94°30′54″W / 35.64278°N 94.51500°W / 35.64278; -94.51500
Country United States
State Oklahoma
CountyAdair
Founded1973
Founded byRobert G. Millar
Government
 • LeaderJohn Millar
Area
 • Total
200 ha (400 acres)
Elevation
[1]
390 m (1,270 ft)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
74960
Area codes918, 539
GNIS feature ID2806997[1]

The enclave consists of approximately one dozen structures, some of them mobile homes and others modernistic dome houses. The center of activity is the church-community center, where residents meet for hour-long sessions each morning.[6]

Robert G. Millar died on May 28, 2001.[7] After his death, his second-oldest son, John Millar, became the leader of Elohim City.[8][3] John Millar died on February 28, 2019.[9]

History

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Robert G. Millar
Born
Robert Grant Millar

(1925-08-16)August 16, 1925
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
DiedMay 28, 2001(2001-05-28) (aged 75)
Elohim City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Other names
  • Grandpa Millar
  • Rev. Millar
Occupations
Children8

Robert G. Millar emigrated in the 1950s from Kitchener, Ontario to Oklahoma City, where he established a church.[3] In the mid-1960s, Millar moved to Maryland, where he ran an evangelical camp near Ellicott City.[8] This camp was located in Howard County on Frederick Road about one mile (1.6 km) west of US Route 29, at the former location of St. Charles College, a Catholic minor seminary destroyed by fire in 1911.[10][Note 2]

In 1973, Millar returned to Oklahoma with around 18 followers, some of whom were related to him by birth or marriage, to found Elohim City.[8]

Criminal events

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In 1986, a Canadian woman and her children sought refuge in the city, contravening a court order awarding custody of the children to her husband. Officers attempting to arrest the woman were met by an armed man.[8]

By the mid-1990s, four members of the Aryan Republican Army (Michael William Brescia, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Stedeford, and Mark Thomas) were residents of Elohim City. Brescia was engaged to Millar's step-granddaughter and stayed in the city for almost two years.[8] Between 1994 and 1995, these four, together with other members of the ARA (known by the media as the Midwest Bank Robbers), were responsible for a series of 22 bank robberies totaling over $250,000 in the American Midwest, which they used to finance white supremacist causes. Millar denied any knowledge of the robberies.[8]

It is believed that the ARA may have also recruited members at Elohim City and/or may have sent recruits to Elohim City for "re-education." Reports also indicate that Elohim City may have provided ARA with training grounds and assisted them in distributing monies received from other groups.[13] The Mueller family, who were brief residents of Elohim City, reportedly left the compound in fear they would be assassinated by the ARA. The Muellers were supposedly privy to information connecting the ARA to the Oklahoma City bombing. Soon after, the Mueller family were tortured and assassinated by Chevie Kehoe and Daniel Lewis Lee under the direction of the ARA.[13]

The remains of former Elohim City guest Richard Snell were released to Elohim City residents following his April 19, 1995 execution in Arkansas. Snell taunted jailers that something drastic would happen on the day of his execution. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by explosives in the hours before he died. Earlier criminal proceedings had produced evidence that Snell and other affiliates visited the Murrah Building in 1983 to examine it as a possible bombing target.[14]

However, when Snell watched televised reports of the Oklahoma City bombing prior to his execution, according to Millar, who was with Snell at the time, Snell was appalled by what he saw.[14] This contrasts with reports that he was seen nodding in agreement while watching the broadcast.[14] McVeigh is known to have telephoned Elohim City two weeks before the bombing of the Murrah building.[3]

In 2008 an Adair County man, who had been evicted from Elohim City, was charged with threatening to commit violence against several Elohim City residents.[15][16] He was acquitted in 2009, following a two-day jury trial in which he represented himself.[17]

By 2023, Elohim was seen locally as only a small religious town in spite of its past associations.[18]

Customs and ideology

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The town is run by a board of directors whose members are called "elders".[19] The residents believe in and advocate white supremacism.[6] Polygamy was acceptable at one time.[20]

In an interview with The Oklahoman, Millar asserted that if anyone, including government agents, were to come to Elohim City to commit criminal acts, the community would defend itself.[21]

Income

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According to Robert Millar, Elohim City operates a small sawmill and trucking enterprise on its property. Millar's son, Bruce, owns a fleet of motor-freight rigs that he leases to National Carriers Inc., a hauling company that transports general commodities and hazardous materials.[22][23]

Religion

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See also: Christian Identity

Elohim City's particular brand of faith draws heavily from the Old Testament. The community's residents attend daily religious services, and singing and dancing play a large role in the ceremonies. Religious services are held in a meeting center with a domed roof made of polyurethane.[19] An estimated 60% of the community's residents attend these daily 1-2 hour meetings, where they also make announcements or discuss community and family business.[24] Saturday is the community's day of rest.

Robert G. Miller declared that the CSA leader James Ellison was a "prophet full of vision" who would unite the attending groups so they could do battle with the so-called Zionist Occupied Government.[13]

Law enforcement investigations

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The US government has monitored the private community since the 1980s due to its alliance with various white supremacist groups and members of the Aryan Nations.[25]

Prior to July 1995, FBI informant Richard Schrum was sent to infiltrate Elohim City, but he was unable to find anything illegal on the compound.[26][27]

Sometime before the Oklahoma City bombing, federal officials had planned to raid Elohim City. As a precaution, police scanners were monitored by the community and spotters were on the lookout to advise them of approaching suspect vehicular traffic. During this time, Millar also noted an increase in flights over Elohim City. [28]

Alleged illegal activities

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An unnamed source, disclosed in a 1995 FBI report, has stated that Elohim City received approximately 96 yards of concrete that had been transported via 122 truckloads from a local concrete company. While the anonymous individual was uncertain of what the purpose of the concrete was, additional sources have indicated the existence of bunkers and weapon storage facilities on the Elohim City compound.

This same FBI document noted that a number of sources alleged the community was generating income through the sale of illegal drugs, which were allegedly produced and grown on the compound.[23] Similarly, Author David Hoffman claims in his 1998 book The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror that at one time, law enforcement officials had received reports that the compound was believed to be generating income through the sale of illegal drugs. He adds that an unnamed source "familiar with the community" had told him about an incident when resident Bruce Millar (a son of Robert Millar) was supposedly "strung out" on methamphetamine.[29][30]

Population

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The total population of Elohim City is unknown, but was estimated in the 1990s to be between 70 and 90.[24][31][3]

In 2015, it was estimated that there were about 100 residents, most of them descendants of Robert Millar.[32]

Millar family

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Robert Millar had a total of eight children.[31] His four sons all live at Elohim City.[3]

  • Dorcas Millar - The wife of John Millar.[33]
  • Lorraine Allen Millar - the late wife of Elohim City's founder, Robert Millar.[34]

Other residents

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Other individuals who either stayed or lived at Elohim City (some of whom later appeared in national news) include:

  • Rokus den Hartog, Millar's protégé who (along with his wife and seven daughters) lived on the compound for a couple of years in the 1980s.[35]
  • George Eaton, founder of Present Truth Ministries and publisher/editor of a right-wing, anti-Semitic newsletter called The Patriot Report, of which Timothy McVeigh was a known subscriber.[23][36][37][38]
  • James Ellison, white supremacist leader of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord.[3]
  • Michael J. Fortier, an army buddy of Timothy McVeigh's, who was imprisoned for failing to warn authorities of the Oklahoma City bombing.[39]
  • Carol Howe, ATF informant who worked undercover in Elohim City.[40][41]
  • Chevie Kehoe, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and convicted murderer.[8]
  • Willie Ray Lampley, a self-proclaimed prophet, leader of the now-defunct Oklahoma Constitutional Militia and the head of the Universal Church of God (Yahweh). For unknown reasons, Lampley had planned to test a homemade bomb at Elohim City, but was thwarted by the FBI. He was also friends with Robert Millar as the two were both firm believers of Christian Identity.[42][43]
  • Faron Earl Lovelace, convicted in a separate case of murdering a man he believed was a federal informant.[44][45]
  • Dennis Mahon, a former imperial dragon in the Oklahoma Ku Klux Klan and an organizer for White Aryan Resistance.[8]
  • Kerry Noble, the second-in-command of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. He was part of the plot to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in 1983.[46]
  • Zera Patterson IV[47]
  • Andreas Strassmeir, German immigrant, head of Elohim City security, phoned by Timothy McVeigh two weeks before the OKC bombing.[8]
  • Pete Ward Jr.[48]

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Elohim is a Hebrew word usually translated as "God", sometimes "Gods" because in Hebrew most plural masculine nouns end in –im.
  2. ^ The area, which was rural until the 1980s, has since been developed into a suburban housing community. The ruins of the seminary's recreation hall are now located in the middle of Terra Maria Way circle (39°17′16″N 76°53′15″W / 39.287713°N 76.887635°W / 39.287713; -76.887635 (EllicottCity)).[11][12]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Elohim City, Oklahoma
  2. ^ "Court documents" (PDF). cases.justia.com. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hastings, Deborah (February 23, 1997). "Elohim City on Extremists' Underground Railroad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Shook, Somer; Wesley Delano; Robert W. Balch‌ (April 1999). "Elohim City: A Participant-Observer Study of a Christian Identity Community". Nova Religio. 2 (2): 245–265. doi:10.1525/nr.1999.2.2.245. ISSN 1541-8480. JSTOR 10.1525/nr.1999.2.2.245.
  5. ^ Clay, Nolan (July 10, 2005). "Elohim City questions resurrected by Nichols". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Richard W. Break (June 23, 1985). "Mountaintop Religious Retreat Armed Against Outside World". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Changing of the Guard: Racist patriarch dies in Oklahoma". Intelligence Report (103). Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2001. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Elohim City -- Extremism in America". ADL.org. Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  9. ^ "John James Millar". Vian Tenkiller News. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023.
  10. ^ Belfoure, Charles (December 12, 1999). "Outside Baltimore, a Reach Back to the 19th Century". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "Welcome to the Frontpage". Terra Maria Community. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "About Terra Maria". Terra Maria Community. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Activities (PIITA)[permanent dead link‍], J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, Sociology & Criminology. May 2006.
  14. ^ a b c Thomas, Jo (May 20, 1995). "Oklahoma City Building Was Target Of Plot as Early as '83, Official Says". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Gibbons, Bob (September 25, 2008). "Area man charged with making threats". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Gibbons, Bob (January 23, 2009). "Stone to be tried for threats against compound". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Gibbons, Bob (October 8, 2009). "Jury acquits area man of threats to Elohim City group". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Chapman, Lee Roy (April 15, 2012). "Who's Afraid of Elohim City?". This Land. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Center for Public Secrets.
  19. ^ a b "Tiny Adair County Community of Elohim City "Centered' on God". The Oklahoman. April 11, 1982. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Changing of the Guard | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. August 29, 2001. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  21. ^ Robby Trammell (May 25, 1995). "Elohim City Leader Blames "Lunatic Fringe" for Blast". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Elohim City on Extremists' Underground Railroad". Los Angeles Times. February 23, 1997.
  23. ^ a b c "Legacy" (PDF). www.motherjones.com. 1995. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  24. ^ a b "Elohim City Residents Enjoy Separate Lifestyle, Religion". The Oklahoman. December 19, 1993. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  25. ^ "White separatist head, 75, dies in Fort Smith". The Oklahoman. June 1, 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  26. ^ Brent L. Smith (2011). Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents: The Identification of Behavioral, Geographic and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Conduct. DIANE Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-4379-3061-0.
  27. ^ Robby Trammell (November 14, 1995). "Self-Proclaimed Prophet Admits Building Explosive". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  28. ^ "VI. PRIOR WARNING, ATF INFORMANTS, AND POSSIBLE "OTHERS UNKNOWN." McVEIGH PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS - MARCH 25, 1997". Fas.org. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  29. ^ "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror, by David Hoffman | The Online Books Page". Onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  30. ^ Hoffman, David (1998). The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror. Feral House. ISBN 0922915490.
  31. ^ a b "Elohim City". Adl.org. June 24, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  32. ^ Thomas, Judy (April 26, 2015). "Little Has Changed At Elohim City, Including The Beliefs Of The Residents". www.flatlandkc.com. Flatland. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "Roberts Reed-Culver Funeral Home". www.robertsreedculverfuneraldirectors.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018.
  34. ^ "In Memory of Lorraine Allen MacMillar". Fmfsinc.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  35. ^ Gypsy Hogan (March 11, 1984). "Elohim "Manifesting God's Word in Shoe Leather'". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  36. ^ Niebuhr, Gustav (May 22, 1995). "A Vision of an Apocalypse: The Religion of the Far Right". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  37. ^ Martin Durham (November 13, 2007). White Rage: The Extreme Right and American Politics. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-134-23181-2.
  38. ^ False Patriots: The Threat of Antigovernment Extremists. DIANE Publishing. 1996. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7881-3132-5.
  39. ^ "Submissions". October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ Linder, Douglas O. (2006). "The Oklahoma City Bombing & The Trial of Timothy McVeigh". Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  41. ^ "Q&A: What really happened: The official version, the conspiracy theories and the evidence surrounding the Oklahoma bombing". Conspiracy Files. BBC News. March 2, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  42. ^ Patrick Casey (November 13, 1995). "Alleged Bomb Plot Confuses Elohim Leader". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  43. ^ "Combating hate" (PDF). www.adl.org. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  44. ^ "Killings Illuminate Culture of White Supremacists". New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  45. ^ Thomas, Jo (March 29, 1998). "Killings Illuminate Culture of White Supremacists". New York Times.
  46. ^ "Elohim City". Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  47. ^ "Key Wants Focus Returned to Elohim City". The Oklahoman. March 9, 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  48. ^ "Bomb Inquiry Figure's Widow Shares Findings". The Oklahoman. March 12, 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

Further reading

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