A White Supremacist Church and a Small Town

Riverton, Wyo. Confronts Church of the Creator — and Own Past
NPR, Feb. 10, 2003
http://www.npr.org/

• Listen to All Things Considered audio
• Exclusive to npr.org, hear more from Thomas Kroenke discussing his appointment as “hastus primus.”

Feb. 10, 2003 — The quiet Wyoming town of Riverton — population 10,000 — got a shock recently: their town was about to become the headquarters of the World Church of the Creator, a group associated with white supremacy and racial violence.

There was swift condemnation of the Church and its beliefs. But as NPR’s Howard Berkes reports, the citizens of Riverton continue to struggle over the best way to respond. City boosters point with pride to the area’s rich Native American heritiage. But Matt Hale wrote to his followers to pursue legal, non-violent means to reach church goals — and stay out of jail. But now Hale is behind bars himself, accused of conspiring to kill a federal judge.

Berkes, in informal chats with Riverton residents, found many people have mixed feelings about Kroenke and the church. They support the church’s First Amendment rights to exist and for church members to hold any opinions they choose — but a history of violent acts by some church members gives them pause.

“We do not have a right to go and lynch them — we just don’t,” says Fred Bayher, a painting contractor from the nearby town of Lander. “But we do have a right to perhaps make them a little less comfortable. And frankly, when it comes to Nazis, I’m a little less concerned with their rights than I am with the rights of, shall I just say, decent people.”

The Riverton Daily Ranger, the region’s local newspaper, has published numerous articles detailing the history of the Church of the Creator, and has come out against the church in its editorial pages. The paper also published a tolerance pledge signed by 300 citizens. The local Chamber of Commerce also took up the cause, sponsoring workshops on diversity.

Tim Thorson of the Chamber of Commerce says the city has to confront its own legacy of intolerance. “There was a time when businesses had signs in their stores saying ‘no Indians.’ That happened here… Our focus is on trying to let the people that live here know that this is a safe place to be. And give them good reason to feel safe.”

In Depth

• July 6, 1999: NPR’s Noah Adams speaks with Matt Hale, leader of the World Church of the Creator. Hale talks about why he wants to put “non-violent pressure” on people of color.

Other Resources

• The Web site of the World Church of the Creator

• The Web site of the Riverton Daily Ranger

• WindRiverUnity.org, a Fremont County, Wyo., group responding to the presence of the World Church of the Creator.

• Information about Riverton, Wyo., from the Riverton Chamber of Commerce

• Details about the World Church of the Creator from the Anti-Defamation League

Read Another Article

Husband’s rotted corpse found in cult woman’s home
Muslim charity head enters fraud plea

Related News Articles Topic(s): Hate Groups Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Hate Groups Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog