The arm test
Encyclopedia
The arm test was used by white supremacist, and convicted murder
er Michael W. Ryan
. Ryan and his group of followers had loose ties to Posse Comitatus
, and links to the Christian Identity
movement.
Every detail of every activity conducted by Ryan was determined by consulting "Yahweh
" through a method called the "arm test." To perform the arm test, one group member would hold his or her right arm out, and a second group member would place one hand on the shoulder and one hand on the wrist of the first group member, exerting downward pressure on the arm. The second group member would then question "Yahweh." If "Yahweh's" answer was yes, the arm stayed up; if the answer was no, the arm would yield to the pressure and fall. Group members were permitted to use the arm test only with Ryan's permission.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er Michael W. Ryan
Michael W. Ryan
Michael W. Ryan was an American white supremacist, and murderer.Ryan was the leader of a small, anti-government and group that occupied a compound near Rulo, Nebraska, in the early 1980s. Ryan and his group of followers had loose ties to Posse Comitatus, and links to the Christian Identity movement...
. Ryan and his group of followers had loose ties to Posse Comitatus
Posse Comitatus (U.S. movement)
The Posse Comitatus is a loosely organized far right social movement that opposes the United States federal government and believes in localism...
, and links to the Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
movement.
Every detail of every activity conducted by Ryan was determined by consulting "Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
" through a method called the "arm test." To perform the arm test, one group member would hold his or her right arm out, and a second group member would place one hand on the shoulder and one hand on the wrist of the first group member, exerting downward pressure on the arm. The second group member would then question "Yahweh." If "Yahweh's" answer was yes, the arm stayed up; if the answer was no, the arm would yield to the pressure and fall. Group members were permitted to use the arm test only with Ryan's permission.