Ten members were tried and convicted for racketeering, and two for their role in the 1984 murder of radio talk show host Alan Berg.

[5] The Order's main objective was to start a white supremacist revolution against the United States, after which blacks, Jews, "race mixers", and other perceived enemies would be exterminated.

[9] In December 1984, authorities were able to track down Robert Jay Mathews, the organization's leader, to a house on Whidbey Island where he refused to surrender.

[15] Mathews had previously formed the Sons of Liberty, an anti-communist militia mostly made up of Mormon survivalists, fundamentalists and associates of John Singer that had no connection to the historical American organization of the same name.

Robbery was first denied as an option due to its perceived sinful nature, until someone suggested they could rob pimps and drug dealers, which would raise money for the organization as well as set back street criminals in their businesses.

Headed back to the trucks, David Lane muttered, "Well, we're going to have to be better thinkers than our fathers were, because we're sure not the men they were,"[16] while Mathews mentions that the pay off from the job "would not fund the right wing for a week anyway.

After weeks of trailing black men in flashy cars, they realized they had no idea what a pimp or drug dealer looked like, [citation needed] and decided to switch to other crimes for funding.

[18] Proceeds from these robberies were distributed to leaders of sympathetic organizations such as William Pierce (National Alliance) and Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. (White Patriot Party).

[24] After a two-hour shoot-out, which involved the use of machine-guns, tear gas and a helicopter used to illuminate the target with flares, Mathews house was engulfed by flames and, according to FBI officials, exploded in "a huge fireball".

[26] Order member Bruce Pierce was sentenced to 252 years in prison for his involvement in the Berg murder, and died of natural causes at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex on August 16, 2010 at the age of 56.

[28] Richard Scutari, a member of the Order, was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in 1986,[29] and was transferred to USP Marion CMU in July 2008.

[46][47] On August 7 of the same year, a 12-inch tube bomb exploded at Fred Bower's auto repair shop in Hayden, Idaho, causing about $2,000 in damage.

[49][50] On September 29, 1986, his latest attack targeted a federal building, a telephone and luggage store, and a restaurant parking lot in Coeur d'Alene, without causing any injuries.

Special agents discovered a shelter that housed AR-15s converted to select-fire assault rifles in violation of federal firearms laws.