Elohim City, Oklahoma

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}}Template:Main other{{#ifexpr:{{#invoke:ParameterCount|main|mapframe|image_map|image_map1|pushpin_map}} >2 |Template:Main other}} Template:Christian Identity sidebar

Elohim City<ref group=Note>Elohim is a Hebrew word usually translated as "God", sometimes "Gods" because in Hebrew most plural masculine nouns end in –im.</ref> (also known as Elohim City Inc.<ref name="justia1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Elohim Village) is a private community in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The Template:Convert 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.<ref name="LATimes" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="LATimes">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="Oklahoman">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Robert G. Millar died on May 28, 2001.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After his death, his second-oldest son, John Millar, became the leader of Elohim City.<ref name="ADL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LATimes" /> John Millar died on February 28, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Template:Infobox person Robert G. Millar emigrated in the 1950s from Kitchener, Ontario to Oklahoma City, where he established a church.<ref name="LATimes" /> In the mid-1960s, Millar moved to Maryland, where he ran an evangelical camp near Ellicott City.<ref name="ADL" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Refn

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.<ref name="ADL" />

Criminal events

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.<ref name="ADL" />

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 settlement for almost two years.<ref name="ADL" /> 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.<ref name="ADL" />

According to researchers from the Terrorism Research Center of the University of Arkansas, the ARA may have recruited residents of Elohim City or sent ARA members there. In addition, Elohim City may have helped the ARA distribute funds to other white supremacist groups and may have provided the group with areas for training.<ref name="TRC-2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="TRC-2006"/>

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.<ref name="NYT">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="NYT" /> This contrasts with reports that he was seen nodding in agreement while watching the broadcast.<ref name="NYT" /> McVeigh is known to have telephoned Elohim City two weeks before the bombing of the Murrah building.<ref name="LATimes" />

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was acquitted in 2009, following a two-day jury trial in which he represented himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

By 2023, Elohim was seen locally as only a small religious town in spite of its past associations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Customs and ideology

The town is run by a board of directors whose members are called "elders".<ref name="Okla2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The residents believe in and advocate white supremacism.<ref name="Oklahoman" /> Polygamy was acceptable at one time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Religion

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.<ref name="Okla2" /> 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.<ref name="separate lifestyle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="TRC-2006"/>

Education

Elohim City is located within the Belfonte Public School school district.<ref name=CensusBureauSDMap2020>Template:Cite map - Text list</ref> There is a private school in the community, Bethel Christian School.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Industry

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Alleged illegal activities

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.<ref name="auto" /> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Population

The total population of Elohim City is unknown, but was estimated in the 1990s to be between 70 and 90.<ref name="separate lifestyle" /><ref name="adl" /><ref name="LATimes" />

In 2015, it was estimated that there were about 100 residents, most of them descendants of Robert Millar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Millar family

Robert Millar had a total of eight children.<ref name="adl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His four sons all live at Elohim City.<ref name="LATimes" />

• Dorcas Millar - The wife of John Millar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Lorraine Allen Millar - the late wife of Elohim City's founder, Robert Millar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other residents

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• 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.<ref name="auto" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• James Ellison, white supremacist leader of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord.<ref name="LATimes" />
• Michael J. Fortier, an army buddy of Timothy McVeigh's, who was imprisoned for failing to warn authorities of the Oklahoma City bombing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Carol Howe, ATF informant who worked undercover in Elohim City.<ref name="Linder">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

• Chevie Kehoe, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and convicted murderer.<ref name="ADL" />
• 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Faron Earl Lovelace, convicted in a separate case of murdering a man he believed was a federal informant.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

• Dennis Mahon, a former imperial dragon in the Oklahoma Ku Klux Klan and an organizer for White Aryan Resistance.<ref name="ADL" />
• 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Zera Patterson IV<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Andreas Strassmeir, German immigrant, head of Elohim City security, phoned by Timothy McVeigh two weeks before the OKC bombing.<ref name="ADL" />
• Pete Ward Jr.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Theodore Rinaldo
• Waco siege

Further reading

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External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Anti-Defamation League profile of Elohim City