The Silent Brotherhood (book)

The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground

Company type	Book
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1989
Founder	Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt
Products	Non-fiction book

The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground is a 1989 publication authored by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt that explores the Order, a neo-Nazi faction led by Robert Jay Mathews, detailing their criminal activities and the subsequent probe. Both writers, reporters at the Denver paper Rocky Mountain News, initiated their inquiry into the group in 1984 following the assassination of Jewish radio personality Alan Berg by the Order. Their investigation included conversations with members of the Order, law enforcement officials, and affiliates. The book was initially released in both hardcover and paperback formats by The Free Press in 1989.

Achieving commercial success, it was republished in 1990 by Signet under the title The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America's Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement, and saw another edition after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Despite two unsuccessful attempts to adapt it for film during the 1990s, the book was eventually transformed into the 2024 movie The Order, which led to a 2024 reissue by Simon & Schuster titled The Order: Inside America's Racist Underground.

From a critical standpoint, the work was lauded for its comprehensive research and nuanced depiction of Mathews, with some reviewers considering it the authoritative source on the Order. Experts in terrorism studies Mark S. Hamm and Cécile Van de Voorde referred to it as "a book without peer" within terrorism scholarship.

The Order

The Order, established by Robert Jay Mathews, was a neo-Nazi organization initially known as The Silent Brotherhood but commonly labeled the Order by media outlets for clarity in headlines. The group engaged in murders, robberies exceeding $4 million, and bombings with the objective of toppling what they termed the "Zionist Occupation Government". They also provided financial support to other white supremacist factions to relocate to the Pacific Northwest with the aim of creating a white ethnostate.

On June 18, 1984, Denver radio host Alan Berg, known for his confrontational stance against racists on air and his disputes with member David Lane, was assassinated by the Order. This prominent killing attracted widespread media coverage. An informant named Tom Martinez played a key role in assisting law enforcement to dismantle the organization. Mathews died during an FBI shootout in 1994 when agents set fire to his hideout. Subsequent arrests led to convictions for remaining members.

The authors and investigation

Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt were reporters at the Denver newspaper Rocky Mountain News. Gerhardt held a degree from Western State College, while Flynn, formerly an editor at the Gloucester County Times, earned a philosophy degree from La Salle University. After Berg's murder, the Rocky Mountain News assigned Flynn, Gerhardt, and John Accola—three of their leading journalists—to spearhead the investigation. Their efforts took them across the United States, where they interviewed far-right activists including Richard Girnt Butler, alongside families of both Berg and Mathews.

Their findings indicated that most individuals involved with the Order lacked prior criminal records, underscoring how many participants appeared quite ordinary. Flynn observed:

While coverage by most reporters ceased following the sentencing of Order members in February 1986, Flynn and his colleagues persisted with their investigation for several more years.

Textual history

By 1985, Flynn and Gerhardt had contemplated writing a book but initially lacked adequate source material, encountering at least nineteen rejections. They subsequently broadened their investigation by conducting interviews with members of the Order and their associates. Following a recommendation to a literary agent, they obtained a $15,000 advance from The Free Press, which financed travel expenses, additional research, new computer equipment, and transcription services. Accola was briefly connected to the project but withdrew early on.

Their interviews included six individuals affiliated with the group, such as Bruce Pierce and Richard Scutari, as well as Mathews's mother and mistress. Pierce openly admitted to feeling no remorse. Research sources also encompassed court documents and discussions with law enforcement officials and FBI agents like Wayne Manis. Flynn described the investigative process as "a reality check," emphasizing that without Mathews’s influence, many followers might have led conventional lives.

Flynn regarded the exploration of Mathews’s character as the "most enjoyable" aspect of writing. The authors aimed to maintain a tone that was impartial yet unsympathetic in order to "de-sensationalize" the Order, focusing on personal narratives rather than extensive essays on racism.

Gerhardt retired from journalism in 2007 and passed away in 2015 at the age of 73. Flynn later wrote The Unmasking: Married to a Rapist in 1993 and was elected to Denver’s city council in 2015.

Contents

The Silent Brotherhood is dedicated to the authors’ spouses and families. It opens with a prologue titled "The Underground," which depicts an encounter shortly before Mathews’s death between FBI agent Wayne Manis and an Order member. The book offers a comprehensive account of the Order’s origins, media coverage, legal proceedings, and Mathews’s enduring influence among white racist activists. While predominantly factual, some dialogues are either hypothetical or fictionalized, presented mainly in chronological sequence.

The initial half centers on Mathews, starting with his childhood and early involvement with the right-wing John Birch Society at age eleven. He later converted to Mormonism and joined the tax resistance movement but did not initially express racist ideologies. His parents opposed his political stance and were not extremists themselves. After encountering legal difficulties and leaving high school prematurely, Mathews relocated to Idaho with a promise to renounce extremism. The narrative then shifts to Richard Girnt Butler of Aryan Nations, a white supremacist preacher associated with Christian Identity theology. Mathews drew inspiration from William Gayley Simpson’s white supremacist book Which Way Western Man? and the neo-Nazi National Alliance before ultimately becoming a follower of Butler.

Dissatisfied with what he perceived as passivity among white supremacists like Butler, Mathews established the group known as the Order—referred to by various names but briefly called "the Order"—modeled after the organization depicted in The Turner Diaries. The authors identify Mathews as the charismatic leader propelling the group forward. The latter half details the Order’s criminal activities and subsequent investigation: a series of robberies and murders intended to fund and ignite an Aryan revolution, including plans for sabotage targeting major urban centers. Members frequently defied extremist stereotypes by lacking criminal histories and presenting themselves as ordinary individuals. Nevertheless, the Order suffered from poor organization and executed its crimes inefficiently. The book provides biographical sketches of several members. The final FBI confrontation resulted in Mathews’s death; most remaining participants received lengthy prison sentences. The conclusion addresses the aftermath for Mathews’s family along with the subsequent outcomes for all involved parties.

Publication history

The Silent Brotherhood made its debut in 1989, released in both hardcover and paperback formats under the title The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground by The Free Press based in New York. This 419-page version was primarily aimed at sociologists and criminologists rather than a general audience. A later paperback edition published by Signet carried the title The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America's Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement. To promote the publication, Flynn and Gerhardt embarked on press tours, including stops in Idaho. Flynn also succeeded in persuading several criminal justice departments at colleges to incorporate the book into their academic programs. His objective was to confront existing stereotypes about far-right groups.

The book enjoyed commercial success, initially selling around 20,000 copies, which aligned with the authors' expectations. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Signet reissued the paperback with a print run of 100,000 copies.

Flynn mentioned that surviving members of the Order expressed appreciation for the book. Nevertheless, it was also embraced by certain neo-Nazi and white supremacist factions. The Aryan Republican Army regarded it as a foundational text for their organization; numerous copies were confiscated during an FBI raid. Individuals such as Chevie Kehoe, Andreas Strassmeir, and Timothy McVeigh—the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing—also found it influential, with McVeigh providing a copy to his accomplice Michael Fortier.

Adaptations

The book served as inspiration for a 1992 stage production titled God's Country, and its film rights changed hands multiple times throughout the 1990s without securing financing. Renewed interest in late 2017 led to a contract that enabled a movie deal, which finally obtained funding in December 2022.

This culminated in the 2024 motion picture The Order, featuring Nicholas Hoult as Mathews and Jude Law portraying a fictional FBI agent who also took on a producer role. The film premiered in U.S. theaters on December 6, 2024. Following the film’s release, the book was republished by Simon & Schuster under the title The Order: Inside America's Racist Underground, maintaining its original length of 419 pages. After the film’s world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, Flynn fulfilled Gerhardt’s widow’s wish by interring a portion of Gerhardt’s ashes outside the festival venue.

Reception

Critics widely acclaimed the book for its meticulous research and exhaustive examination of the Order. Both reviewers and academics hailed it as the authoritative work on the topic. Scholars Mark S. Hamm and Cécile Van de Voorde described it as "a book without peer" due to its exceptional scholarship. The Houston Chronicle deemed it the "best account yet" of the Order, while Kennell Jackson Jr. from the San Francisco Chronicle praised its detailed information combined with an engaging narrative.

Particular recognition was given to its depiction of Mathews as the pivotal figure, with commentators noting insightful portrayals of white supremacist ideology within the Brotherhood. However, some critics pointed out a lack of exploration into why members engaged in criminal acts or what made Mathews so persuasive. Flynn observed that positive reviews came even from ideologically opposed groups, including a neo-Nazi faction and a communist organization.

Reactions to the writing style were mixed: some found it straightforward or dry, whereas others considered it gripping and suspenseful with occasional ironic humor. The Los Angeles Times called it a "page-turner" essential for American readers, though some found tracking numerous names challenging. Scholar Vivian Wagner analyzed it as novelistic, delving into distinctions between fascists and non-fascists.

Several reviewers described the work as unsettling or disturbing, emphasizing how ordinary individuals committed extremist offenses. The book evoked sensations of unease, fear, and eeriness; some termed it "morbidly entertaining," while others noted it generated "subtle and lingering fear."