Elohim City, Oklahoma

Elohim City[Note 1] also known as Elohim City Inc.,[1] 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 once one of the most important leaders in America's Christian Identity movement, a theology common to an assortment of right-wing extremist groups.[2][3] The community gained national attention for its ties to members of The Order in the 1980s and with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s.[2][4]

Elohim City
Private community
A sign warning intruders away from the enclave
Elohim City
Elohim City
Coordinates: 35°38′30″N 94°30′52″W
Country United States
State Oklahoma
CountyAdair
Founded1973
Founded byRobert G. Millar
Government
 • LeaderJohn Millar
Area
 • Total200 ha (400 acres)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
74960
Area code(s)918, 539

The enclave consists of approximately one dozen structures, some of them mobile homes, while others are modernistic dome houses. The center of activity is the church-community center, where residents meet for hour-long sessions each morning.[5]

Robert G. Millar died on May 28, 2001.[6] After his death, his second-oldest son, John Millar, became the leader of Elohim City.[7][2] John Millar died on February 28, 2019. [8]

Background
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.
NationalityCanadian
Other names
  • Grandpa Millar
  • Rev. Millar
OccupationReligious leader, minister
Children8

Millar emigrated from Kitchener, Ontario, in the 1950s to Oklahoma City, where he established a church.[2] In the mid-1960s, Millar moved to Maryland, where he ran an evangelical camp near Ellicott City,[7] 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.[9][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.[7]

History

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.[7]

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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[10] 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. The Mueller family were soon after tortured and assassinated by Chevie Kehoe and Daniel Lewis Lee under the direction of the ARA.[10]

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 had visited the Murrah Building to examine it as a possible bombing target in 1983.[11] 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.[11] This contrasts with reports that he was seen nodding in agreement while watching the broadcast.[12]

McVeigh is known to have telephoned Elohim City two weeks before the bombing of the Murrah building.[2]

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.[13][14] He was acquitted in 2009 following a two-day jury trial in which he represented himself.[15]

Customs and ideology

The residents believe in, and advocate, white supremacism.[5]

According to some alleged ex-members and one-time visitors, residents would frequently walk around with guns on the premises.[16] 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.[17]

Elohim City "elder" Zera Horton Patterson III stated in a May 13, 1985 Arkansas Gazette article that "community members did not think of themselves as 'white supremacists,' but as a 'chosen people' charged by God with the responsibility of serving and leading others."[18]

Polygamy was also acceptable at one time.[19]

The town is run by a board of directors whose members are called "elders".[20]

In June 2001, the New York Post reported that pictures of McVeigh are displayed throughout Elohim City. It quoted an unnamed government informer who visited there in the last year as saying: “McVeigh is a hero inside Elohim City. They look upon him ‘as a martyr to their cause.’”[21]

Income

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
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 that is made of polyurethane.[20] However, Saturday is the community's day of rest. 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]

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.[10]

Law enforcement investigations

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 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 aerial over-flights of Elohim City. [28]

Alleged illegal activities

Several conspiracy theorists and sources alike claim that the compound has been involved in illegal activity, namely drug trafficking.[29][30]

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 have alleged that the community had been generating income through the sale of illegal drugs, produced and grown on the compound.[23]

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. Additionally, he states that an unnamed source who was "familiar with the community" had revealed to him about an incident when resident Bruce Millar (a son of Robert Millar) was supposedly "strung out" on methamphetamine.[31][32]

Josiah Stone, a former resident of the sect, stated in a court case that he had information about the community's supposed involvement in illegal activity of which he did not specifically name.[1]

Other residents

Robert Millar had a total of eight children.[33] His four sons all live at Elohim City.[2]

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

The total population of Elohim City is unknown. It was estimated to be between 70 and 90 in the 1990s.[24][33][2] In 2015, it was estimated that there were about 100 residents, most of them descendants of Robert Millar.[51]

See also

Notes
  1. Elohim is a Hebrew word to be translated as "God" or "Gods" (Because in Hebrew, "-im" ending is common as plural masculine substantive nouns).
  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 (39.287713°N 76.887635°W / 39.287713; -76.887635 (EllicottCity)). See Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine and Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine

References
  1. "Court documents" (PDF). cases.justia.com. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  2. Hastings, Deborah (23 February 1997). "Elohim City on Extremists' Underground Railroad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  3. 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.
  4. Clay, Nolan (10 July 2005). "Elohim City questions resurrected by Nichols". NewsOK. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  5. Richard W. Break (1985-06-23). "Mountaintop Religious Retreat Armed Against Outside World". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. "Changing of the Guard: Racist patriarch dies in Oklahoma". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center (103). Fall 2001. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  7. "Elohim City -- Extremism in America". ADL.org. Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  8. Sequoyah County Times https://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/obituaries/john-james-millar-0. Retrieved January 11, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Charles Belfoure, "Outside Baltimore, a Reach Back to the 19th Century", The New York Times, December 12, 1999.
  10. Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Activities (PIITA), J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, Sociology & Criminology. May, 2006.
  11. Thomas, Jo (20 May 1995). "Oklahoma City Building". The New York Times.
  12. Thomas, Jo; Ronald Smothers (May 20, 1995). "Oklahoma City Building Was Target Of Plot as Early as '83, Official Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013.
  13. Gibbons, Bob (September 25, 2008). "Area man charged with making threats". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  14. Gibbons, Bob (January 23, 2009). "Stone to be tried for threats against compound". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  15. Gibbons, Bob (October 8, 2009). "Jury acquits area man of threats to Elohim City group". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  16. "Elohim City". Topix. 2018-12-05. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  17. Robby Trammell (1995-05-25). "Elohim City Leader Blames "Lunatic Fringe" for Blast". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  18. "Harrison-L-La-tour - User Trees". Genealogy.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  19. "Changing of the Guard | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. 2001-08-29. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  20. "Tiny Adair County Community of Elohim City "Centered' on God". Newsok.com. 1982-04-11. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  21. "Combating hate" (PDF). www.adl.org. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  22. "Elohim City on Extremists' Underground Railroad". Los Angeles Times. February 23, 1997.
  23. "Legacy" (PDF). www.motherjones.com. 1995. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  24. "Elohim City Residents Enjoy Separate Lifestyle, Religion". Newsok.com. 1993-12-19. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  25. "White separatist head, 75, dies in Fort Smith". Newsok.com. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  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 (1995-11-14). "Self-Proclaimed Prophet Admits Building Explosive". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  28. "VI. PRIOR WARNING, ATF INFORMANTS, AND POSSIBLE "OTHERS UNKNOWN." McVEIGH PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS - MARCH 25, 1997". Fas.org. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  29. "VISUP: The Road To Elohim Part III". Visupview.blogspot.com. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  30. "Elohim City". Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  31. "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror, by David Hoffman | The Online Books Page". Onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  32. Hoffman, David (1998). The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror: David Hoffman: 9780922915491: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 0922915490.
  33. "Elohim City". Adl.org. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  34. Gypsy Hogan (1984-03-11). "Elohim "Manifesting God's Word in Shoe Leather'". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  35. GUSTAV NIEBUHRMAY (1995-05-22). "A Vision of an Apocalypse: The Religion of the Far Right - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  36. Martin Durham (13 November 2007). White Rage: The Extreme Right and American Politics. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-134-23181-2.
  37. False Patriots: The Threat of Antigovernment Extremists. DIANE Publishing. 1996. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7881-3132-5.
  38. "Submissions". October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26.
  39. 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.
  40. "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.
  41. Patrick Casey (1995-11-13). "Alleged Bomb Plot Confuses Elohim Leader". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  42. "Combating hate" (PDF). www.adl.org. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  43. Thomas, Jo (March 29, 1998). "Killings Illuminate Culture of White Supremacists" – via NYTimes.com.
  44. "Roberts Reed-Culver Funeral Home". www.robertsreedculverfuneraldirectors.com.
  45. "In Memory of Lorraine Allen MacMillar". Fmfsinc.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  46. "Elohim City".
  47. "Building BeenVerified Report". Beenverified.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  48. "Key Wants Focus Returned to Elohim City". Newsok.com. 1998-03-09. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  49. "Bomb Inquiry Figure's Widow Shares Findings". Oklahoman.com. March 12, 1998.
  50. "Harrison-L-La-tour - User Trees - Genealogy.com". www.genealogy.com.
  51. Thomas, Judy (2015-04-26). "Little Has Changed At Elohim City, Including The Beliefs Of The Residents". www.flatlandkc.com. Flatland. Retrieved January 14, 2019.

Further reading
  • Atkins, Stephen E. (2011). Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism in Modern American History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-350-7.
  • Chapman, Lee Roy; Kline, Joshua (April 15, 2012). "Who's Afraid of Elohim City?". This Land. This Land Press.
  • Copeland, Thomas E. (2007). Fool Me Twice: Intelligence Failure and Mass Casualty Terrorism. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-15845-0.
  • Graff, James L.; Cole, Patrick E.; Shannon, Elaine (February 24, 1997). "The White City on a Hill". Time. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  • Hamm, Mark S. (2002). In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground. University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-55553-492-9.
  • Jones, Stephen; Israel, Peter (2001). Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-098-1.
  • Malcomson, Scott L. (2001). One Drop of Blood: The American Misadventure of Race. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-374-52794-5.
  • Niebuhr, Gustav (May 22, 1995). "A Vision of an Apocalypse: The Religion of the Far Right". The New York Times.
  • Quarles, Chester L. (2004). Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1892-3.
  • Simi, Pete; Futrell, Robert (2010). American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-0208-5.
  • Wright, Stuart A. (2007). Patriots, Politics, and the Oklahoma City Bombing. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87264-5.
  • Zeskind, Leonard (2009). Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-374-10903-5.

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