Robert Jay Mathews (January 16, 1953 – December 8, 1984) was an American

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

terrorist and the leader of The Order, an American white supremacist militant group. He was burned alive during a shootout with approximately 75 federal law enforcement agents who surrounded his house on Whidbey Island, near Freeland, Washington. He is believed to have served as a lookout in the murder of Alan Berg.

Life and activities

Early years

Robert Mathews was born in Marfa, Texas, on January 16, 1953, the youngest of three sons born to Johnny and Una Mathews. His father, of Scottish descent, was mayor of the town, and the President of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, as well as a businessman and leader for the local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church. His mother was the town's Cub Scout den mother. The family moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Though he was an average student in grade school, history and politics interested him. At age 11, he joined the John Birch Society, a right-wing advocacy group supporting paleoconservatism,

anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

and limited government. Mathews was baptized into

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

in 1969. Mathews formed the Sons of Liberty, an anti-communist

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

whose members were mainly Mormon survivalists. At its peak, it had approximately 30 members. After filling out his employer's W-4 Form claiming ten dependents, reportedly as an act of tax resistance, he was arrested for

tax fraud Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trust (property), trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax au ...

, tried, and placed on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

for six months.

The Order

Mathews became a white supremacist and in 1982 he made an effort to recruit white families to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, or the White American Bastion. In 1983, Mathews delivered a speech at a National Alliance convention reporting on his efforts to recruit on behalf of the organization, especially among "the yeoman farmers and independent truckers," to his White American Bastion group. Mathews was a fan of the far-right extremist 1978 novel '' The Turner Diaries'' written by National Alliance founder

William Luther Pierce William Luther Pierce III (September 11, 1933 – July 23, 2002) was an American Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi Activism, political activist. For more than 30 years, he was one of the highest-profile individuals of the white nationalist movement. A physic ...

. In late September 1983, at a

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

he constructed on his property in Metaline, Mathews and eight other men founded the organization The Order. They included his friend and neighbor, Ken Loff, and others from the Aryan Nations: Dan Bauer, Randy Duey, Denver Parmenter, Bruce Pierce, and David Lane; and the National Alliance: Richie Kemp and Bill Soderquist. The group's first task, according to Mathews' plan, was to obtain money to support white separatism. Their activities began to parallel events in the novel ''The Turner Diaries''. They robbed an adult bookstore in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, which netted them $369.10. They agreed that was too risky, and turned to robbing armored cars and counterfeiting. They printed some

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

$50 bills, and 28-year-old Bruce Pierce was arrested after passing off a few of them. To raise Pierce's bail, Mathews, acting alone, robbed a bank just north of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, stealing around $26,000. Some of The Order's members, along with a new recruit, Gary Yarborough, carried out more robberies and burglaries, which netted them over $43,000. A subsequent robbery yielded several hundred thousand dollars. Another recruit, Tom Martinez, was caught and charged for passing more counterfeit currency. Then in July 1984, they deployed approximately a dozen men in a successful effort to rob a

Brink's The Brink's Company is an American Automated cash handling, cash handling company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its operations include cash-in-transit, ATM replenishment & maintenance, and cash management & payment services, such as va ...

truck of $3,600,000. The group distributed some of the stolen money to the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

–based White Patriot Party and other white nationalist organizations.

Final days

Prior to his death, Mathews wrote a long letter declaring war on the

federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

and justifying his group's actions. In it, he describes threats allegedly made to members of his family by

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) agents, including to his young son while he was away from his house, as well as a number of attempts on his life by other government agents. He explained the reasons for his decision to "quit being the hunted and become the hunter," and closed by writing, "I am not going into hiding rather I will press the FBI and let them know what it is like to become the hunted. Doing so it is only logical to assume that my days on this planet are rapidly drawing to a close. Even so, I have no fear. For the reality of my life is death, and the worst the enemy can do to me is shorten my tour of duty in this world. I will leave knowing that I have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the future of my children." Mathews and the other members of The Order were eventually betrayed by Martinez, who became an FBI informant after his arrest for counterfeiting. After he revealed information regarding Mathews' activities to the FBI, agents moved to capture Mathews and his associates, leading to one of the largest manhunts in FBI history. By the time they could set up the operation, all of Mathews' accomplices and friends had decided to move to safe houses. The government's agents surrounded Mathews in a house near Freeland, Washington on Whidbey Island on December 7, 1984. Mathews refused to come out and negotiations continued until December 8, when Mathews refused to talk anymore. The FBI then fired dozens of smoke grenades and a stun grenade into the house in an attempt to force Mathews out, but were thwarted by his use of a gas mask. Mathews opened fire on several agents who attempted to enter the house, and a long standoff began. When a helicopter appeared at nightfall, Mathews opened fire on it from an upstairs the helicopter's crew was and then once again exchanged gunfire with federal agents. An FBI agent then fired three M79 Starburst flares inside the house from the helicopter, setting off a box of

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s and a stockpile of ammunition. Mathews continued to fire an assault rifle at agents as the house burned, but then suddenly stopped. After the wreckage had cooled enough to be searched, agents found the burned remains of 31-year-old Mathews' body, with a pistol still in his hand. An

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

concluded that Mathews had died from a combination of burns and smoke inhalation. Mathews had fired over 1,000 rounds at law enforcement, but no agents were injured. Mathews' remains were cremated and the ashes scattered by his family on his property in Metaline, Washington. Eventually, dozens were convicted of crimes connected to The Order, on charges that included

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

, counterfeiting, transporting stolen money, armored car robbery, and violation of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. Sentences of up to 252 years were imposed. Also prosecuted were members of The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, a far-right paramilitary allied with The Order which had declared war on the federal government as well. Most of their leading members received lengthy prison terms for illegal weapons possession and racketeering. Later, ten people connected to the case, including Butler, Lane, and Pierce, were tried for sedition, but were acquitted by a jury.

In popular culture

Mathews was portrayed by Peter Gallagher in the 1999 television film '' Brotherhood of Murder'' and by Nicholas Hoult in the 2024 theatrical film '' The Order''.

References