Book 1

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Prologue

THE ORDER, aka Bruders Schweigen, German words meaning Silent Brotherhood. Law enforcement knew who they were, crediting the White Supremacist group with - among other crimes - the murder of Alan Berg, a Denver based radio talk show host who frequently issued disparaging remarks about white racists; and an armored car robbery that netted $3.8 million.

All of that was about to come to a close, though, on December 8, 1984, near Smugglers Cove, at Whidbey Island, Washington. More than sixty FBI agents finally had their prize trapped. They'd had the secluded house surrounded since dawn. This time - they were determined - there would be no escape for the leader of the group, Robert Jay Mathews.

Most of the others were already in custody. In the house with Mathews was Ian Stewart, another member of The Order. He was with Mathews when government agents swarmed the house on December 7th. And as the two of them realized their situation, Bob could see the growing fear in Ian's eyes. Fear of their impending death.

Ian wasn't a coward, Bob knew that. He'd been in gun battles before and had put his life on the line, but this was different. This was suicide. And it wouldn't matter that some would view it as martyrdom, he knew he'd be dead either way. He walked over to the window and peeked through the drawn shades for the tenth time in two minutes, trying to spot some of the government agents positioned behind the trees. It'd been a while since they attempted to call into the house, using a bullhorn, and Ian was concerned that they might be preparing to storm the house.

Ian turned away from the window and back to Bob, who was sitting at a table. Bob was pained by the look of fear he saw on Ian's face. He reached out for Ian's model 94, 9 mm semi-automatic Heckler and Koch assault rifle, and Ian handed it to him. "I don't want to die, Bob. Not like this."

Bob nodded, then spoke to Ian in a gentle voice. "It's alright, brother. Get me a tablet to write on, and a pen."

Ian went to find a pen and tablet and Bob walked over to the front door, opening it a few inches and calling to the government agents. "Stand down out there! I've got one coming out in a minute!" He walked back over to the table and sat down.

Ian came back with the pen and paper and gave it to him. Bob had to struggle to hold the pen with his bandaged hand; a gunshot wound he'd received a few days earlier in a shootout at a motel with FBI agents. Briefly, Bob thought once again about how he'd received the injury. Thomas Martinez, once a trusted ally, turned government informant and set Bob up to be captured at the motel. He looked up at Ian. "Don't let people forget about Tommy-boy."

Ian nodded. "Want me to write that for you?"

Bob shook his head.

Ian watched silently while Bob wrote. When he was done Bob handed the piece of paper to Ian and he read it. What he wrote made it clear to anyone who read it that Bob wasn't going to be taken alive. "Take that with you when you go," said Bob.

Ian folded it up and put It in his pocket and turned to leave, then stopped. He turned back to Bob. He tried to talk but the words came out choked. "Bob, I, I -"

"It's okay, buddy. Go ahead. I'll finish up here."

"You want me to give them any messages?"

"Yeah. Tell them I'll accept their surrender, under the following terms: I want parts of eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana set aside as a white homeland, where our kinsfolk will be free to live as they choose."

Ian surrendered. He gave Bob's message to the agents. They responded by firing seven canisters of CS gas into the house in an attempt to force him out. Bob had gas masks, though, so that had no effect.

They spent hours trying to establish communications with him after that, but received no response. And then they heard a single gunshot come from within the house, followed by a moaning sound. After additional attempts to hail him failed, a decision was made to send in the FBI's elite hostage rescue team, called in from Quantico, Virginia. They suited up and prepared to enter the house, with an attack German shepherd leading the way.

Entering the ground floor of the two-story house, the dog quickly turned and ran from the room, spooked by the GS gas residue, dragging its handler along with it. The other agents continued through the house without the aid of the dog, clearing each room they came to. With the ground floor cleared, they carefully started up the stairs to the second floor.

The lead agent was on the fourth step when automatic gunfire from a .30 caliber machine gun rang out. Wood splintered from the floor above and bullets poured in all around them. They scrambled to get out of the line of fire, with some returning fire as they retreated from the house. All had managed to escape without being hit by a single bullet.

When the government agents realized that they were up against a very well-armed man who was determined not to be taken alive, the decision was made to set the house on fire. He would then have the choice of either surrendering, or being consumed by the flames. Three M-79 Starburst flares were fired into the playroom on the ground floor, and the house was soon ablaze.

As they waited for some signs that Bob Mathews wanted to surrender, it became apparent at some point that it wasn't going to happen. And then came his reply. He appeared at an upstairs window, with an M-60 in his hands, and opened up on them. A few returned fire, but most took covered behind the nearest tree.

Hundreds - possibly thousands - of rounds came from the house, as black smoke billowed from it, filling the sky. Even over the sound of the roaring flames they could hear the gunfire coming from within. And as the fire reached the second floor, the gunfire finally came to an end.

The body of Robert Jay Mathews was recovered from the smoldering ashes the following day. The Bruders Schweigen medallion he wore around his neck, signifying his membership, was found melted into his chest cavity. The gas mask he was wearing had melted onto his face. Not a single bullet hole had been found anywhere on his body. The official cause of his death was listed as being burned alive.

One FBI agent would later voice a grudging respect for the way Bob died, saying that he was still firing at them even as the flames consumed him.

After initially denying that they started the fire intentionally, they would later admit to the press covering the story that it was true, offering up as a rationale that they thought Bob would surrender under those conditions. Whether or not they really believed that, it was clear by the jovial antics of some of them afterwards that they didn't really understand the significance of the event. Those were the opening shots of the revolution...not the final ones.