Aryan Nations

Despite the poor health of its leader, Richard Butler, and internal power struggles that have siphoned off support and membership over the past decade, the Hayden Lake, Idaho-based Aryan Nations remains an organization of serious concern and a potential catalyst for acts of violence. The ideology that motivates the group's hatred is "Christian Identity," a pseudo-religious doctrine which argues that Northern European whites and their American descendants are the "Chosen People" of Scriptural prophecy; that Jews are the "Synagogue of Satan"; that Blacks and other people of color are subhuman "mud people," and that the Bible mandates that homosexuals be executed. To promote this agenda, Aryan Nations hosts semiannual gatherings at its headquarters, conducts a "prison outreach ministry" affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, and operates a Home Page on the World Wide Web. Aryan Nations is the most significant "Identity"-oriented organization in America.