Kerry Noble, Former Leader in One of the First American White Supremacy Survivalist Cults
How does a person change from a non-violent, non-racist Christian man with a wife and two young children into a radicalized, paramilitary soldier willing to blow up innocent people? How does this person reclaim his true self and become a positive member of society again? Kerry Noble lived that scenario as a high-ranking member of The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), a white supremacist, paramilitary, right-wing religious group active in the 1970s and 80s. I met Kerry after he had been arrested by the FBI, served a prison sentence, and was speaking about his experiences. We both were on a panel for the American Psychological Association at the invitation of then APA President, Dr. Philip Zimbardo. Kerry wrote about his experiences in Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction into Right-Wing Extremism. On February 4, we reconnected to talk about how he had been radicalized and its relevance to the January 6 insurrection attempt at the Capitol and events occurring today.
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