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Snell, Richard Wayne (1931–1995)———339

Further Reading who passed information from group to group. During
a 1998 trial of 15 white supremacists in Fort Smith,
Blazak, Randy. “White Boys to Terrorist Men: Target
Recruitment of Nazi Skinheads.” American Behavioral Arkansas, James Ellison, former CSA leader turned
Scientist, Vol. 44, No. 6, February 2001. government informant, testified about links between
Hamm, Mark. American Skinheads: The Criminology and Snell, the CSA, and other prominent white suprema-
Control of Hate Crimes. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995. cist groups, including Posse Comitatus, Aryan
Levin, Jack, and Jack McDevitt. Hate Crimes: The Rising Nations, and the Order.
Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed. New York: Plenum, 1993. Ellison also testified that Snell and the CSA plotted
Moore, Jack B. Skinheads: Shaved for Battle. Bowling to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Oklahoma City in October 1983, a decade before
Press, 1993. Timothy McVeigh. After a meeting of white suprema-
Perry, Barbara. In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate cists at the Aryan Nations compound in Hayden Lake,
Crimes. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Idaho, members of the CSA sought to retaliate against
the government for the death of Gordon Kahl, a member
of Posse Comitatus who was shot to death in a 1983
SLA. See SYMBIONESE LIBERATION ARMY. gun battle with federal agents in Smithville, Arkansas.
The plan involved using rocket launchers to topple the
Murrah building. CSA members had even scouted the
SNELL, RICHARD WAYNE (1931–1995) building.
Though Snell and McVeigh had never met, many
believe that the date of Snell’s execution, April 19
Richard Wayne Snell, a key figure in the far-right (also known as “militia day”), and the Oklahoma City
Christian Identity movement and one-time member of bombing were intimately linked. Snell’s behavior in
a right-wing religious paramilitary group called the jail also suggested his knowledge of an attack. He had
Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), repeatedly predicted that an explosion or bombing
was executed on April 19, 1995, a significant date would occur on the date of his execution. The morn-
among white supremacist and right-wing groups ing of April 19, Snell watched the live coverage of the
(April 19, 1995, was also the date of the Oklahoma Oklahoma City bombing from his cell on death row,
City bombing). At the time of his death, some Christ- laughing and chuckling, according to prison officials.
ian Identity adherents believed Snell was to be the According to witnesses to the execution, as Snell was
second coming of Christ. strapped to the gurney later that evening he said,
Snell was on death row for murdering two men— “Governor Tucker, look over your shoulder. Justice is
Louis Bryant, a black Arkansas state trooper, and on the way.” Snell was executed by lethal injection at
William Stumpp, the owner of a Texarkana pawn 9 P.M.—12 hours after the attack.
shop. In 1984, Bryant stopped Snell for a traffic vio- Robert G. Millar, Snell’s religious adviser and
lation near DeQueen, Arkansas. Snell shot Bryant leader of Elohim City, a right-wing religious com-
once as he approached the car, and again as Bryant lay pound near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, witnessed
on the ground. Police chased Snell to Broken Bow, his execution and brought Snell’s body back to Elo-
Oklahoma, where a gun battle erupted in which Snell him City for burial. Millar kept Snell’s casket open for
was wounded. When Snell was finally captured, three days, in the event the he would rise again as the
police searching Snell’s car found firearms, silencers, Christian Identity Messiah.
and hand grenades, as well as the gun used in the 1983
murder of Stumpp, whom Snell had shot after mistak- See also APRIL 19; COVENANT, THE SWORD, AND THE ARM OF
THE LORD; TIMOTHY MCVEIGH; OKLAHOMA CITY
enly identifying him as Jewish. (Stumpp was Episco-
BOMBING
palian.) Although Snell later claimed he shot Bryant
in self-defense, he was convicted on both counts and
sentenced to death for Stumpp’s murder. Further Reading
Snell had a long history of involvement with crime Bushart, Howard L., John R. Craig, and Myra Barnes. Sol-
and was deeply connected to right-wing and militia diers of God: White Supremacists and Their Holy War
circles. During the 1980s, he acted as an “emissary” for America. New York: Kensington, 1998.