Matthew F. Hale
Encyclopedia
Matthew F. Hale more commonly known as Matt Hale, was the third Pontifex Maximus (Latin for "highest priest") of the white supremacist
religion, Creativity
, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in East Peoria, Illinois
. In 1998, Hale made headlines when his application for an Illinois law license was denied due to his religious beliefs in Creativity
, described as a "gross deficiency in moral character". On April 6, 2005, Hale was sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill federal judge
Joan Lefkow
. He is currently incarcerated in the Administrative Maximum
facility in Florence, Colorado
, as Inmate number 15177-424.
, a city on the Illinois River
. By the age of 12, he was reading books about National Socialism such as Adolf Hitler
's Mein Kampf
, and had formed a group at school.
In August 1989, Hale entered Bradley University
, studying political science
. In September 1989, Hale began writing editorials in the college newspaper, the Bradley Scout, espousing his views of White Separatism. A student at Bradley, Robert Bingham, also a political science major, began a debate in the college newspaper editorial about civil rights
and the Ku Klux Klan
. Upon coming out to give his surname, Matt Hale invited the Ku Klux Klan
to the campus of Bradley in the spring of 1990; the same year, he was expelled from Bradley. At the age of 19, Hale burned an Israeli flag
at a demonstration and was found guilty of violating an East Peoria ordinance against open burning. The next year, he passed out racist
pamphlets to patrons at a shopping mall and was fined for littering. In May 1991, Hale and his brother allegedly threatened three African-Americans with a gun, and he was arrested for mob action. Since he refused to tell police where his brother was, Hale was also charged with felony
obstruction of justice
; he was convicted of obstruction, but won a reversal on appeal
. In 1992, Hale attacked a security guard at a mall and was charged with criminal trespass, resisting arrest, aggravated battery
and carrying a concealed weapon. For this attack, Hale was sentenced to 30 months probation
and six months house arrest
.
In 1993, Hale graduated from Bradley University and received a degree in political science
. In 1996, Hale founded the New Church of the Creator, a revival of Ben Klassen
's religious group, that believes that the white race are the creators of all worthwhile civilization. The church believes that a "racial holy war" is necessary to attain a "white world" without Jews and non-whites and to this end it encourages its members to "populate the lands of this earth with white people exclusively".
After Hale was appointed "Pontifex Maximus" (supreme leader), he changed the name of the organization to the World Church of the Creator. The name was again changed to the Creativity Movement when a religious group in Oregon
(the Church of the Creator) sued Hale's group for trademark infringement.
in May 1998 and passed the bar
in July of that same year. On December 16, 1998, the Illinois Bar Committee on Character and Fitness rejected Hale's application for a license to practice law. Hale appealed, and a hearing was held on April 10, 1999. On June 30, 1999, a Hearing Panel of the Committee refused to certify that Hale had the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in Illinois. Two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law, a World Church of the Creator member and college student named Benjamin Smith
resigned from The Church and went on a three-day shooting spree in which he randomly targeted members of racial and ethnic minority groups in Illinois and Indiana
. Beginning on July 2, 1999, Smith shot nine Orthodox Jews walking to and from their synagogue
s in Chicago
's West Rogers Park neighborhood, killed two people, including former Northwestern University
basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong
, in Evanston, Illinois
, and a 26-year-old Korean graduate student named Won-Joon Yoon who was shot as he was on his way to church in Bloomington, Indiana
. Smith wounded nine others before committing suicide
on July 4. Mark Potok
, director of intelligence for the Southern Poverty Law Center
, believes that Smith may have acted in retaliation after Hale's application to practice law was rejected.
After Smith's shooting spree, Hale appeared on television and in newspapers saying, "We do urge hatred. If you love something, you must be willing to hate that which threatens it." He also referred to non-whites as "mud races." According to Hale, America should only be occupied by whites. During a television interview that summer, Hale stated that his church didn't condone violent or illegal activities.
, the United States district court judge presiding over his trademark case. Again in late 2002 and prior to his arrest, Hale denounced Lefkow in a news conference, claiming that she was biased against him because she was married to a Jewish man and had grandchildren who were biracial.
On January 8, 2003, Hale was arrested, charged with soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill Lefkow.
On February 28, 2005, Lefkow's mother and husband were murdered at her home on Chicago
's North Side. Chicago Police revealed on March 10 that Bart Ross, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice
case that Lefkow had dismissed, admitted to the murders in a suicide note written before shooting himself during a routine traffic stop in Wisconsin
the previous evening. The murders and suicide had no connection to Hale or Creativity.
On April 6, 2005, Hale was sentenced to a 40-year prison term for his conviction for attempting to solicit the murder of Lefkow.
Hale's projected release date is December 6, 2037.
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
religion, Creativity
Creativity (religion)
Creativity is a nontheistic, ethnocentric religion founded in 1973 by Ben Klassen with the publication of the book Nature's Eternal Religion and was later expounded upon in the books The White Man's Bible, and Salubrious Living...
, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in East Peoria, Illinois
East Peoria, Illinois
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities...
. In 1998, Hale made headlines when his application for an Illinois law license was denied due to his religious beliefs in Creativity
Creativity (religion)
Creativity is a nontheistic, ethnocentric religion founded in 1973 by Ben Klassen with the publication of the book Nature's Eternal Religion and was later expounded upon in the books The White Man's Bible, and Salubrious Living...
, described as a "gross deficiency in moral character". On April 6, 2005, Hale was sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
Joan Lefkow
Joan Lefkow
Joan Humphrey Lefkow is a United States district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 11, 2000, to a seat vacated by Judge Ann Claire Williams, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 2000...
. He is currently incarcerated in the Administrative Maximum
ADX Florence
The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility is a supermax prison for men that is located in unincorporated Fremont County, Colorado, United States, south of Florence. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or The Alcatraz of the Rockies...
facility in Florence, Colorado
Florence, Colorado
The City of Florence is a Statutory City located in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,653 at the 2000 census.ADX Florence, the only federal Supermax prison in the United States, is located south of Florence in an unincorporated area in Fremont County...
, as Inmate number 15177-424.
Early life
Hale was raised in East Peoria, IllinoisEast Peoria, Illinois
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities...
, a city on the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
. By the age of 12, he was reading books about National Socialism such as Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
, and had formed a group at school.
In August 1989, Hale entered Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
, studying political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. In September 1989, Hale began writing editorials in the college newspaper, the Bradley Scout, espousing his views of White Separatism. A student at Bradley, Robert Bingham, also a political science major, began a debate in the college newspaper editorial about civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Upon coming out to give his surname, Matt Hale invited the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
to the campus of Bradley in the spring of 1990; the same year, he was expelled from Bradley. At the age of 19, Hale burned an Israeli flag
Flag of Israel
The flag of Israel was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment. It depicts a blue Star of David on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes...
at a demonstration and was found guilty of violating an East Peoria ordinance against open burning. The next year, he passed out racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
pamphlets to patrons at a shopping mall and was fined for littering. In May 1991, Hale and his brother allegedly threatened three African-Americans with a gun, and he was arrested for mob action. Since he refused to tell police where his brother was, Hale was also charged with felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
; he was convicted of obstruction, but won a reversal on appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
. In 1992, Hale attacked a security guard at a mall and was charged with criminal trespass, resisting arrest, aggravated battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
and carrying a concealed weapon. For this attack, Hale was sentenced to 30 months probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
and six months house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
.
In 1993, Hale graduated from Bradley University and received a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. In 1996, Hale founded the New Church of the Creator, a revival of Ben Klassen
Ben Klassen
Bernhardt "Ben" Klassen was an American religious leader who founded the Church of the Creator with the publication of his book Nature's Eternal Religion in 1973...
's religious group, that believes that the white race are the creators of all worthwhile civilization. The church believes that a "racial holy war" is necessary to attain a "white world" without Jews and non-whites and to this end it encourages its members to "populate the lands of this earth with white people exclusively".
After Hale was appointed "Pontifex Maximus" (supreme leader), he changed the name of the organization to the World Church of the Creator. The name was again changed to the Creativity Movement when a religious group in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
(the Church of the Creator) sued Hale's group for trademark infringement.
Controversy over law license
Hale graduated from Southern Illinois University School of LawSouthern Illinois University School of Law
Southern Illinois University School of Law is a law school in Carbondale, Illinois. The college offers Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Master of Legal Studies programs. It also offers dual degree programs in Accounting, Medicine, Education, Business Administration, Public Administration, Social...
in May 1998 and passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in July of that same year. On December 16, 1998, the Illinois Bar Committee on Character and Fitness rejected Hale's application for a license to practice law. Hale appealed, and a hearing was held on April 10, 1999. On June 30, 1999, a Hearing Panel of the Committee refused to certify that Hale had the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in Illinois. Two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law, a World Church of the Creator member and college student named Benjamin Smith
Benjamin Nathaniel Smith
Benjamin Nathaniel Smith was a spree killer who targeted members of racial and ethnic minorities in random drive-by shootings in Illinois and Indiana, USA during the weekend of July 4, 1999.- Early life :...
resigned from The Church and went on a three-day shooting spree in which he randomly targeted members of racial and ethnic minority groups in Illinois and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Beginning on July 2, 1999, Smith shot nine Orthodox Jews walking to and from their synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's West Rogers Park neighborhood, killed two people, including former Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong was an insurance executive and former African American men's basketball coach who was murdered in a hate crime.- Career :...
, in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, and a 26-year-old Korean graduate student named Won-Joon Yoon who was shot as he was on his way to church in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. Smith wounded nine others before committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
on July 4. Mark Potok
Mark Potok
Mark Potok is a spokesman and director of publications and information for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, a nonprofit organization that arose from the anti-segregation movement to counter extremism and hate crimes....
, director of intelligence for the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
, believes that Smith may have acted in retaliation after Hale's application to practice law was rejected.
After Smith's shooting spree, Hale appeared on television and in newspapers saying, "We do urge hatred. If you love something, you must be willing to hate that which threatens it." He also referred to non-whites as "mud races." According to Hale, America should only be occupied by whites. During a television interview that summer, Hale stated that his church didn't condone violent or illegal activities.
Federal convictions
In late 2002 Hale filed a class action lawsuit against Judge Joan LefkowJoan Lefkow
Joan Humphrey Lefkow is a United States district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 11, 2000, to a seat vacated by Judge Ann Claire Williams, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 2000...
, the United States district court judge presiding over his trademark case. Again in late 2002 and prior to his arrest, Hale denounced Lefkow in a news conference, claiming that she was biased against him because she was married to a Jewish man and had grandchildren who were biracial.
On January 8, 2003, Hale was arrested, charged with soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill Lefkow.
On February 28, 2005, Lefkow's mother and husband were murdered at her home on Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's North Side. Chicago Police revealed on March 10 that Bart Ross, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
case that Lefkow had dismissed, admitted to the murders in a suicide note written before shooting himself during a routine traffic stop in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
the previous evening. The murders and suicide had no connection to Hale or Creativity.
On April 6, 2005, Hale was sentenced to a 40-year prison term for his conviction for attempting to solicit the murder of Lefkow.
Hale's projected release date is December 6, 2037.