DATE=7/6/99 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-43810 TITLE=CHURCH OF THE CREATOR BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND DATELINE=CHICAGO CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: THE MAN ACCUSED OF A HATE-FILLED SHOOTING SPREE IN TWO MIDWESTERN U-S STATES THIS PAST FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WAS AN ACKNOWLEDGED WHITE SUPREMACIST WHO FELT BLACKS, ASIANS AND JEWS HAD NO PLACE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY. BENJAMIN SMITH WAS A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING HATE GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES, THE WORLD CHURCH OF THE CREATOR, WHICH IS BASED IN THE MIDWESTERN STATE OF ILLINOIS. FROM CHICAGO, V-O-A'S MICHAEL LELAND TELLS US THE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH VIOLENT ACTS IN THE PAST. TEXT: BENJAMIN SMITH MADE NO SECRET OF HIS HATRED OF ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS AND RACIAL MINORITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. IN PAST INTERVIEWS, HE HAS SAID THOSE FEELINGS BEGAN WHILE HE WAS A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. HE FELT THE MINORITIES IN HIS RESIDENCE HALL WERE GETTING PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, SUCH AS SCHOLARSHIPS, AND THAT THE U-S GOVERNMENT WAS TURNING AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE. IN A RECENT VIDEOTAPED INTERVIEW, BROADCAST ON U-S TELEVISION AFTER THE SHOOTING SPREE, MR. SMITH OFFERED AN EXAMPLE OF THESE FEELINGS. // SMITH ACT // BLACKS ARE VERY DANGEROUS. THEY COMMIT A LOT OF CRIME. IF WE COULD JUST DEPORT THE BLACKS BACK TO AFRICA, OUR STREETS WOULD BE SAFE. WE ALL KNOW THAT A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD REALLY MEANS A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD, WHETHER PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO ADMIT IT OR NOT. // END ACT // UNTIL THIS PAST MAY, BENJAMIN SMITH BELONGED TO A WHITE SUPREMACIST ORGANIZATION CALLED THE WORLD CHURCH OF THE CREATOR. IT CONSIDERS MINORITIES TO BE A DANGER TO AMERICAN WHITES, AND BELIEVES IN THE COMING OF A RACIAL HOLY WAR. THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT MONITORS HATE GROUPS, AND HAS BEEN WATCHING THIS ONE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. MARK POTOK IS A RESEARCHER AT THE CENTER. // FIRST POTOK ACT // IT HAS BECOME ONE OF THE TWO OR THREE LARGEST NEO-NAZI ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTRY. IN FACT, UNDER MATT HALE'S LEADERSHIP, WHICH BEGAN AROUND 1995, THE GROUP HAS REALLY COME FROM ALMOST NOTHING TO BE QUITE LARGE: ON THE ORDER OF 30 TO 40 CHAPTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY. // END ACT // THE WORLD CHURCH OF THE CREATOR WAS FOUNDED IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA IN 1973. A 27-YEAR OLD MAN NAMED MATT HALE RUNS IT NOW, MAINLY THROUGH AN INTERNET SITE MAINTAINED FROM HIS PARENTS' HOME IN EAST PEORIA, ILLINOIS. MR. HALE IS DISTANCING HIMSELF AND HIS ORGANIZATION FROM BENJAMIN SMITH'S ACTIONS, WHICH LEFT TWO PEOPLE DEAD AND SEVEN OTHERS WOUNDED. HE SAYS HIS CHURCH DOES NOT CONDONE VIOLENCE. // HALE ACT // IT IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. IT IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. IT IS NOT THE TACTIC OF THE WORLD CHURCH OF THE CREATOR TO WIN PEOPLE OVER BY THOSE MEANS. WE SEEK TO PERSUADE PEOPLE, JUST AS OTHER CHURCHES SEEK TO PERSUADE PEOPLE THAT THEIR VIEW ON LIFE IS CORRECT. // END ACT // BUT MR. POTOK AT THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER SAYS CHURCH OF THE CREATOR MEMBERS HAVE LONG BEEN LINKED TO VIOLENCE. SOME HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF MURDER, BEATINGS, AND CONSPIRACY TO ATTACK BLACK ORGANIZATIONS AND CHURCHES. HE ALSO SAYS MR. HALE THOUGHT MUCH OF MR. SMITH. // SECOND POTOK ACT // MATT HALE IS SO CLOSE TO THIS MAN THAT, IN FACT, HE NAMED HIM THE "CREATOR OF THE YEAR" IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, FOR 1998. THAT IS THE HIGHEST HONOR THE SO-CALLED PONITFEX MAXIMUS OF THE GROUP (HALE) CAN BESTOW. // END ACT // HOURS BEFORE A BLACK MAN WAS KILLED AND SIX ORTHODOX JEWS WERE WOUNDED IN AND NEAR CHICAGO (FRIDAY), ALLEGEDLY BY MR. SMITH, THE SUSPECT HAD TESTIFIED ON MR. HALE'S BEHALF BEFORE AN ILLINOIS STATE BOARD THAT DECIDES WHO GETS LICENSES TO PRACTICE LAW. MR. HALE HAS PASSED HIS BAR EXAM, BUT HAS REPEATEDLY BEEN DENIED A LAW LICENSE IN ILLINOIS BECAUSE OF HIS VIEWS. (SIGNED) NEB/MJL/PT 06-Jul-99 3:44 PM EDT (1944 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .