With over 75 "contact points" spread across 27
states, ten international contacts and more than 30 affiliated Web sites, the
World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), currently led by Matt Hale and based in
East Peoria, Illinois, is one of the larger hate groups in the United States, as
well as one of the most notorious. WCOTC defines itself as a
"religion" established for the "survival, expansion, and
advancement of [the] White Race exclusively." WCOTC’s ideology vehemently
attacks Jews, Christians, Blacks and other people of color, although Jews are
the main focus of WCOTC’s hateful rhetoric.
The group offers two venues for women -- the Women's Frontier
and The Sisterhood of the WCOTC, each with its own Web site and newsletter. The
Sisterhood advertises itself primarily as a place to "provide an outlet for
[white women] to express their feelings of racial loyalty in positive
ways," such as writing poetry and providing support for other "white
sisters," while The Women's Frontier focuses on direct racial activism,
such as distributing WCOTC propaganda and attending meetings and rallies. The
Sisterhood also has a Prisoner Support Group and it was through this group that
Chase allegedly began corresponding with Felton.
The WCOTC was formed in the early 1970s by Florida racist Ben Klassen, who
committed suicide in 1993. Since its inception, it has garnered a longstanding
and deserved reputation as one of the most violent white supremacist groups in
the United States. However, Hale has consistently maintained that the group's
ultimate objective -- the survival, expansion and advancement of the "White
Race" -- can be achieved through legal and nonviolent means.
Nevertheless, the group has not condemned the violent actions of its
followers, including a two-state shooting spree by follower Benjamin Smith in
July 1999 that left two people dead and nine wounded (all members of minority
groups). Following Smith's rampage and subsequent suicide, Hale portrayed the
gunman as a martyr. "As far as we're concerned," Hale said of the
carnage, "the loss is one white man."
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