Posse Comitatus

The Posse Comitatus, meaning “Power of the County,” was founded in 1969 by dry cleaner Henry L. Beach in Oregon and William Potter Gale in California (each claimed to have originated the idea). Members believe that the only legitimate authority is the county sheriff and any power above that is illegal. They object to and sometimes refuse to pay federal taxes. Influenced by the racist, anti-Semitic theology of Christian Identity, the Posse preaches that [Page 300]the founders of the country intended a Christian Republic, and desegregation laws wrongly encourage race mixing. Group members establish churches to which they deed their properties and claim religious tax exemptions. Fearing the government's takeover by a Jewish-led, communist conspiracy, many stockpile weapons and food supplies, and train in weapons use and military tactics. Some, like Gordon Kahl, who shot two federal marshals at a roadblock, have resorted to violence.

The group first attracted the FBI's attention in 1975 when plans to assassinate “money czar” Nelson Rockefeller were unearthed. The resulting investigation uncovered chapters of the organization in 23 states and an estimated 12,000 to 50,000 members. The group accumulated its largest membership gains during the farm crisis of the 1980s. When, after years of struggling, farmers were forced to sell some or all of their farms on the auction block, the Posse convinced many of them to blame their troubles on the federal government and the banking system, both allegedly controlled by Jews.

Throughout the 1980s, Posse members engaged in a wide range of subversive activities aimed at the state and federal governments. Several state officials received letters of “asseveration” from members claiming they were no longer U.S. citizens. Many others filed pro se lawsuits against the Federal Reserve and other banks in efforts to reclaim taxes and interest they already paid and to clog up the courts with cases. Still others, like James Wickstrom, the leader of a Wisconsin branch, formed their own municipalities. Wickstrom was later imprisoned for conspiring to distribute $100,000 in counterfeit money that he planned to use to set up a militia training camp.

Some incidents turned violent. In one case, a member shot three undercover federal agents who were buying guns from him. In Oregon, the FBI thwarted a plot to firebomb the homes of four judges who had presided over members' trials. In another case, a California branch leader, William Potter Gale—credited with bringing Christian Identity tenets into the Posse movement—and several associates, were arrested for making death threats to a judge and Internal Revenue Service agents.

The Posse gained widespread notoriety in the 1983 case involving Gordon Kahl. In North Dakota, U.S. marshals set up a roadblock to arrest Kahl for a probation violation having to do with an earlier tax evasion case. A gunfight resulted that left two marshals dead, and another marshal and two police officers wounded. Five other people, including Kahl's wife and son, were arrested in connection with the murders but Kahl became a fugitive, eventually making his way to another member's house in Arkansas. After a four-month manhunt, he shot and killed a sheriff. Authorities responded by firing back with guns and teargas, igniting stockpiled ammunition. Kahl was killed and his charred body was later identified through dental records.

Kahl's death made him a martyr for the extreme right. It also alerted officials to the Posse's true potential, influencing law enforcement and legislation in several states. Officials believe that the Posse, like other militia groups, lost its impetus after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. However, the group and its rhetoric have inspired successors. In 1996, members of the Posse-inspired Family Farm Preservation group were charged with passing approximately $80 million in counterfeit money orders in an effort to disrupt the federal monetary system. They were found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud.

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