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church elders; in response, almost two-thirds of the Extremism on the Right. Rev. ed. New York: Anti-
congregation defected because they regarded Ellison’s Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 1988.
actions as the adoption of a one-man ministry. Noble, Kerry. Tabernacle of Hate: Why They Bombed
Ellison and those who stayed, particularly his Oklahoma City. Prescott, Ontario: Voyageur, 1998.
second-in-command, Kerry Noble, tried for a while
to underplay the group’s right-wing stance. That
changed, however, after the 1983 Aryan Nations ELN. See NATIONAL LIBERATION
World Congress that commemorated the death of ARMY–BOLIVIA OR NATIONAL LIBERATION
Gordon Kahl, a member of Posse Comitatus who had ARMY–COLOMBIA.
refused to pay his taxes. After killing two U.S. mar-
shals, Kahl was considered a martyr by the extreme
right when he, in turn, was killed during a skirmish EMETIC. See EVAN MECHAM
with federal authorities. Ellison has often been
quoted as saying at that conference that he was sorry ECO-TERRORIST INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY.
he was not with Kahl at his death and announced that
he was “here to tell you that the sword is out of the
sheath, and it’s ready to strike. For every one of our EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
people they killed, we ought to kill a hundred of SHOOTING
theirs.”
Ellison’s terrorist activities included arson—he and
his followers set fire to an Arkansas church with a On February 23, 1997, Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a
largely homosexual congregation and to a Jewish 69-year-old Palestinian teacher, began shooting on the
center; they also bombed a natural gas pipeline in observation deck of the Empire State Building, killing
Arkansas. He later admitted to having plans to assas- one and injuring six before committing suicide. The
sinate key government officials and national person- attack led to tougher federal gun laws for foreign
alities and to bomb the Oklahoma federal office visitors and recent immigrants.
building, but none of these came to fruition because of Abu Kamal arrived in the United States on
what he took to be signs from God. December 24, 1996, on a tourist visa. After staying
In 1985, after a four-day standoff with federal with friends in New York City for two weeks, he trav-
authorities at the CSA compound ended peacefully, eled to Melbourne, Florida, where, using his motel
Ellison was convicted on racketeering and weapons address, he obtained a temporary resident card on
charges. At age 38, he was sentenced to 20 years in January 30, 1997. Taking advantage of Florida’s lax
prison. In 1988, he agreed to be the chief prosecution gun laws, he used the card to purchase a $500 semi-
witness at the sedition trial of 14 other white suprema- automatic handgun. Abu Kamal received the gun in
cists, including some former CSA members. Although five days, returning to New York City a week later.
the defendants in that case were found not guilty, Law enforcement officials have speculated that Kamal
Ellison’s sentence was reduced to 10 years for testify- must have had assistance from terrorists (or sympa-
ing. Released in 1991, after serving only six years thizers) within the United States.
in prison, he returned to prison briefly for violating Just before 5 P.M. on Sunday, February 23, Kamal
parole and was released in April 1995. He reportedly entered the Empire State Building. Security cameras
moved to Elohim City, a Christian Identity camp later revealed he concealed the gun under a long coat.
located in Adair County, Oklahoma. He took the elevator to the 86th-floor observation
deck. Witnesses claimed to have heard Abu Kamal
See also COVENANT, THE SWORD, AND THE ARM OF THE LORD; mention something about Egypt before he opened fire
WHITE SUPREMACY
on the crowd. After wounding seven, he shot himself
in the head.
Further Reading Initially, Abu Kamal’s family described him as

Coulson, Danny O., and Elaine Shannon. No Heroes: Inside having become “unbalanced” after losing more than
the FBI’s Secret Counter-Terror Force. New York: $300,000 in a business deal; they claimed that the loss
Pocket Books, 1999. of his life savings caused his rampage. Investigators,