April 19 has become a date marking horrific violence in this country's
history.
The date is
not well known like September 11 or December 7, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Unlike dates
that commemorate great military victories or the end of World Wars, April 19 is
about a different kind of violence.
Violence
between citizens of this nation and the government itself.
Like most
traditions it began as a coincidence, but later transitioned into a date of
significance for members of sovereign citizen groups like the Posse Comitatus.
It began in
1985. Jim Ellison was the leader of a sovereign group called CSA (The Covenant,
the Sword and the Arm of the Lord. On April 19, 1985, three hundred federal
officers surrounded his compound in northern Arkansas. Ellison surrendered and
was later convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges. Aside from traditional
firearms, the federal officers rounded up hand grenades, plastic explosives,
blasting caps, land mines and even a US Army anti-tank rocket. One of Ellison’s
men, Richard Wayne Snell was charged with murder and his execution took place
ten years later as fate would have it, on April 19.
April 19,
1993 the FBI stormed the Branch Davidian complex outside Waco Texas, killing
seventy six members, including seventeen children. David Koresh, the leader of
the Branch Davidian group was sought for illegal weapons charges, something
sovereign groups adamantly believed was not a crime, but a right. This
came on the heels of the Ruby Ridge shootings which had enraged members like
Tim McVeigh. Terry Nichols and McVeigh saw Waco as yet another illegal
intrusion by a corrupt government.
Following
Waco, April 19 became a date of significance for sovereign groups. They would
use the date as a symbol and cause to retaliate against the government.
On April 19,
1994 militia leader Linda Thompson issued a call for sovereign citizen groups
to assemble in Washington DC, armed and in uniform. The purpose of the
assembly was the forced repeal of the Brady Bill and the arrest of Congressmen
and Senators for treason. She identified herself as the acting adjutant general
of the Unorganized Militia of the United States. Although later rescinded, her
call to arms became known as the Thompson Ultimatum.
At nine pm
April 19, 1995, CSA member, Richard Wayne Snell, was put to death by lethal
injection in Arkansas. Twelve hours earlier, Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols had
ignited a truck bomb outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City
killing 168 people.
For McVeigh and Nichols the date was not a coincidence.
For McVeigh and Nichols the date was not a coincidence.
ABOUT STEVE O'BRIEN
Steve O’Brien is an author and attorney. Redemption Day is his third novel. His prior works, Elijah’s Coin and Bullet Work, have been recipients of multiple literary awards. Since its release, Elijah’s Coin has been added to the reading curriculum in multiple secondary schools throughout the US and has been incorporated in a university ethics course. Steve is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and The George Washington University Law School. He lives in Washington, DC.
Award winning
author Steve O’Brien bases his new novel on the historical events and
documented teachings of the Posse Comitatus – an anti-government militia group
in the 1980’s that tried to convince farmers that banks could not lawfully
foreclose on their properties. Their beliefs led to the bombing of the Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City on a date of significance to the group—April
19.
In Redemption
Day, the Posse Comitatus has returned, reinvigorated and inspired by
the economic downturn and anger over government intrusion. The Posse seeks to
not only wreak havoc on the country, but to actually change the political
landscape. In their effort to “take back the country,” they kidnap a Supreme
Court Justice. With money extorted from a government contractor desperate to
win back a domestic terrorism contract, redemption day unfolds.
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