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Hate American Made ////// The White Supremacist - True Crime Garage | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Hate American Made ////// The White Supremacist

Tue Apr 01 2025

Hate American Made ////// The White Supremacist Part 1 of 6 www.TrueCrimeGarage.com Hate itself is not a crime. Hate is a feeling, an emotion but hate can very easily become criminal. In fact we see it everyday on the News, playing out before our eyes. Richard Wayne Snell was a white separatist and a white supremacist. His hate became criminal. He committed several hate crimes that resulted in the murders of innocent people. Unfortunately within certain groups throughout several states Richard Snell was looked at as a leader, an influencer, and a lone wolf. He was a bad man full of hate who preferred to operate alone but when his mission became overthrowing the U.S. Government it required that he work with others. He found friendship in several hate groups that operated far and wide, from Arkansas all the way out to Washington state. Richard Wayne Snell’s hate fueled more hate and that hate turned violent and deadly.

Summary

True Crime Garage: "Hate American Made — The White Supremacist" Episode Summary

Release Date: April 1, 2025

1. Introduction to the Episode

In this gripping episode of True Crime Garage, hosts Nick and Captain delve deep into the life and crimes of Richard Wayne Snell, a notorious white supremacist whose extremist activities spanned decades. The episode, titled "Hate American Made — The White Supremacist," unpacks Snell's journey from his early affiliations to his eventual downfall, providing listeners with a comprehensive look into the mind of a hate-driven criminal.

2. Understanding Hate and White Supremacy

The episode begins with an analytical discussion on the nature of hate, emphasizing that it is a learned behavior rather than an innate emotion. Captain elucidates:

"Hate is actually a learned behavior shaped by factors like fear, anger, and social conditioning... Hate often stems from the idea that certain groups should have power or control over others."
[02:00]

This foundational understanding sets the stage for exploring how hate fuels extremist ideologies and actions.

3. Profile of Richard Wayne Snell

Richard Wayne Snell, born on May 21, 1930, in either Iowa or Oklahoma, is introduced as a man whose life was deeply entrenched in white supremacist beliefs. Despite his early training in ministry, Snell never pursued a conventional career, instead immersing himself in extremist organizations. Captain provides insight into Snell's background:

"Snell was too warped and wrapped up in his nefarious activities to hold down a conventional 9 to 5 job."
[05:09]

Snell's personal life, including his marriage to Mary Jo Snell and their three children, remains largely obscured, overshadowed by his extremist pursuits.

4. Snell’s Activities and Extremist Affiliations

Snell was a prominent member of several white supremacist groups, most notably the Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA). His affiliations extended to Elohim City, a secluded enclave in Oklahoma known for harboring various hate groups. Nick highlights Snell's deep-rooted involvement:

"Snell was a believer in what some call Christian identity... he became an avowed white separatist."
[07:15]

These affiliations provided Snell with a network of like-minded individuals, facilitating his criminal endeavors and extremist activities.

5. The Mena Airport Conspiracy

One of the more intriguing aspects of Snell's activities was his suspicion of the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport in Arkansas. Snell believed the CIA was using the airport for illegal drug smuggling operations. Captain recounts:

"Richard Snell was ahead of the curve as he was very suspicious of a potential government-sanctioned drug smuggling operation years prior."
[10:30]

Despite his claims, official investigations, including a report by the CIA's inspector general, found no evidence of illicit activities at the airport. Snell's accusations extended to high-profile figures like then-Governor Bill Clinton, alleging a massive government cover-up—a claim that lacked substantiation.

6. Plans to Attack Federal Buildings

Snell's anti-government sentiments culminated in elaborate plans to overthrow the U.S. government. Alongside associates like James Ellison and Steve Scott, Snell devised schemes to assassinate federal officials and bomb key government buildings. Nick draws parallels between Snell's plans and the infamous 9/11 attacks:

"Richard Snell and the guys at Elohim City... it's really serious stuff because their plan is... to assassinate a few high up officials... and to blow up some of these federal buildings."
[44:34]

Their blueprint included the design of rocket launchers intended to devastate the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. However, a failed practice run, where a rocket launcher malfunctioned, led Snell and his cohorts to interpret the incident as divine intervention, prompting them to abandon their plans.

7. The 1984 Shooting of Officer Bryant

In 1984, Snell's violent tendencies culminated in the tragic shooting of Officer Lewis Bryant, an African American state trooper in Arkansas. Captain narrates the harrowing event:

"When the trooper approached Snell's vehicle, Snell got out and shot him multiple times... Officer Bryant was a young man with a young family."
[36:34]

A witness, a trucker, pursued Snell to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, leading to a gunbattle. Snell was critically injured, sustaining six gunshot wounds, but survived and was subsequently arrested. The incident underscored the lethal consequences of Snell's hatred and extremist beliefs.

8. Snell’s Trial and Conviction

Snell faced multiple charges, including the murder of Officer Bryant and the earlier killing of William Stump, a pawn shop owner whom Snell murdered during a robbery in 1983. The trial was swift:

"One of the trials lasted three days, and the jury only deliberated for a mere 15 minutes before convicting him."
[63:14]

With testimonies from Snell's former associates, who received reduced sentences in exchange for cooperating, the jury recommended the death penalty. Despite appeals citing procedural errors, Snell's conviction and death sentence were upheld, sealing his fate.

9. Conclusion

The episode concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of Snell's actions and the pervasive threat of extremist ideologies. Captain emphasizes the importance of law enforcement's role in apprehending such individuals:

"How many more people would he have killed... How many lives would this dude have taken out?"
[60:48]

Nick and Captain underscore the necessity of vigilance and the relentless pursuit of justice to prevent hate-fueled crimes from tarnishing society.

Notable Quotes

Captain on hate as a learned behavior:

"Hate is actually a learned behavior shaped by factors like fear, anger, and social conditioning... Hate often stems from the idea that certain groups should have power or control over others."
[02:00]
Nick on Snell's neglect of presenting evidence:

"But the problem with Snell's story here is... he has never produced this footage to show anybody."
[14:30]
Captain on Snell's distrust of government:

"Snell was driven by hatred and white separatism. He was determined to commit heinous crimes."
[20:28]
Nick on the consequences of extremist actions:

"Either way, the guy's evil. Pile of shit."
[62:56]

Final Thoughts

"Hate American Made — The White Supremacist" serves as a sobering exploration of how entrenched hate and extremist ideologies can drive individuals to commit heinous crimes. Through meticulous research and poignant discussions, True Crime Garage sheds light on the dark corridors of white supremacy, offering listeners both awareness and cautionary tales of the depths of human malice.

For more true crime stories and in-depth analyses, visit True Crime Garage and subscribe to stay updated on upcoming episodes.

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Transcript

Steve Buscemi (0:00)

Hi, this is Steve Buscemi. You know the actor. Well, now I'm an actor and podcast host from Piece of Work Entertainment and Campside Media in association with Olive Productions comes Big Time, an Apple Original Podcast. Each episode follows the story of one misfit with big dreams who isn't afraid to bend a few rules or take a shortcut to get there.

Nick (0:22)

Well, who steals bees? I was duped.

Captain (0:24)

I shoot you in the leg.

Steve Buscemi (0:26)

This is Big Time. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.

Nick (0:38)

By.

Captain (0:39)

An Unspeakable Act Hate the apocalypse would occur soon. More white supremacist groups. More anti government groups David Koresh Ruby ridge siege Timothy McVeigh More than 80 people dead bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City eight by an unspeakable act. There is so little hope left.

Colonel (1:08)

Hate While often perceived as an inherent emotion, hate is actually a learned behavior shaped by factors like fear, anger, and social conditioning. Rather than emerging naturally, it's rooted in issues of power and control and can be fueled by negative stereotypes and dehumanization. Hate is not instinctive or universal. It develops over time through experiences and social influences. Hate often stems from the idea that certain groups should have power or control over others. These ideas are often rooted in historical power dynamics and can be reinforced by societal structures. Hate is frequently triggered by a sense of personal threat or vulnerability, which can lead to the dehumanization of others. Negative stereotypes about certain groups can contribute to the development of hate. These stereotypes can become stronger during times of crisis, leading to increased prejudice and discrimination. Hate itself is not a crime. Hate is a feeling, an emotion. But hate very easily can and often does become criminal. A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism, with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, the FBI has defined a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or.

Captain (2:53)

Property motivated in whole or in part.

Colonel (2:57)

By an offender's bias against race, religion, disability, social orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity. As part of its responsibility to uphold the civil rights of the American people, the FBI takes a number of steps to combat hate crimes. This role increased dramatically following the passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964. These days, words like Nazi or racist get probably more usage than necessary over usage of words with powerful meanings diminishes the strength and importance of those words. This presentation is a collage of several true crime stories, all that have some connective tissue and are essentially crimes and murders that have influence over other crimes, crimes and murders. Hate is a true crime story that spans decades. When you hear the term right wing. Do note that it is followed by the more powerful word in the phrase which is extremist or extremists in this great country. We of course have left and right politics and political views, but we are not talking about the right wing in the traditional sense. We are talking about the very furthest of the far uber far right and very extreme, some of which is extreme right terrorism. Terrorism that is motivated by ultranationalism, neo Nazism, anti communism, neo fascism, religious nationalism, anti Semitism, anti government sentiment, and occasionally it can be motivated by opposition to abortion and homophobia. All which is hate, pure and simple. This is true crime garage and this is hate American made.

Captain (5:09)

Richard Wayne Snell, who was known as Wayne to his friends and associates, was born on May 21, 1930 in either Iowa or Oklahoma. Sources vary on his place of birth. This is just one of several aspects of this man's life that remains a mystery still to this day. Richard Snell's parents were Charles Edwin Snell, a pastor of the Church of Nazarene, and Mary Jane Snell. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes that young Richard Snell underwent some training in ministry, but never actually practiced. Instead, he became increasingly involved in various extremist organizations. Snell was a believer in what some call Christian identity, which sounds like something nice, but Christian identity states that the only true chosen people of God are those of Germanic or Celtic descent. Snell became an avowed white separatist. Sources report that Richard and his wife, Mary Jo Snell, had three children. There is little information available about the couple beyond the supposition that Mary Jo shared her husband's extremist views, and along with that, she apparently supported his activities, illegal and otherwise. And Richard Snell was up to a lot of activities, that is for sure, but of those activities that did not seem to include having a job. He seems to have been too warped and wrapped up in his nefarious activities to hold down a conventional 9 to 5 job at any point in his adult life. Instead, his time was mostly occupied by being a white supremacist and a member of several paramilitary anti Semitic extremist militia groups, most notably the Covenant, the Sword and Arm of the Lord, often referred to as the csa. Richard Snell apparently made a living by committing violent crimes, most which were carried out while heavily armed with illegal weapons. Then there was this hobby of his. During his time living in Arkansas, Richard Snell was involved in the filming of planes at Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport in Polk County, Arkansas. Believing that the CIA was smuggling drugs into this country and using the MENA airport to facilitate the operation. Now, you won't hear us defending this man much during our garage presentation. However, in Richard Snell's defense, he certainly was not the only one who suspected that strange things were afoot at the MENA airport. In fact, over the years there have been a number of allegations about the use of MENA Intermountain Municipal Airport as a CIA drop point in a large scale cocaine trafficking operation. These theories gained momentum in the latter part of the 1980s. Richard Snell, however, was ahead of the curve as he was very suspicious of a potential government sanctioned drug smuggling operation years prior. These are rumors that included allegations of not only awareness, but participation and or a cover up involving prominent figures such as Reagan administration officials, the then governor Bill Clinton, and Saline county prosecutor Dan Harmon. Some of you may recognize the name Dan Harmon from our story many years back. A story that some say has shaped the garage into what it is today. That story is Boys on the tracks. Episodes 93, 94, 95 and 96. Salon County Prosecutor Dan Harmon appeared to try to be helping the families of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, two murdered teenage boys who someone likely, someone's plural, attempted to cover up their murders by placing the boys bodies on the train tracks so that the train would destroy all evidence, which sadly has worked. The murders of Don Henry and Kevin Ives are still unsolved to this day. And I believe several persons are responsible for covering up those murders as well as covering up the witnessed activities that led to the murders. Saline county prosecutor Dan Harmon was later convicted of numerous felonies including drug possession with intent to distribute, racketeering, conspiracy and extortion charges. This all in 1997.

Captain (23:10)

We talked about banding together with others. Let's talk about Richard Snell wouldn't go on to be the only notorious person that that frequented or lived at Elam City. So here are just some of the other air quotes. Wonderful residents who either stayed or lived at Elohim City. We have George Eaton, who is the founder of Present Truth Ministries and publisher slash editor of an extreme right wing anti Semitic newsletter called the Patriot Report. We have James Ellison, who we've already talked about. He was a white supremacist, leader of the Covenant, the sword and the arm of the Lord. We have Michael Fortier, an army Buddy of Timothy McVeigh, domestic terrorist who eventually Michael was imprisoned for failing to warn authorities about the Oklahoma City bombing. We have Chevy Kehoe, a self proclaimed white supremacist and convicted murderer. He and an accomplice wiped out a family in Arkansas, including killing a kid who was just 8 years old. All of this just to steal a large quantity of guns and ammunition. We have Willie Ray Lampley, a self proclaimed prophet, leader of the now defunct Oklahoma Constitutional Militia and the head of the Universal Church of God. We have Farron Earl Loveless, convicted in a separate case of murdering a man he believed was a federal informant. And we also have Dennis Mahan, a former Imperial Dragon in the Oklahoma Ku Klux Klan and an organizer for White Aryan resistance. So no shortage of losers there at Elham City. Robert Mylar, the founder of Elohim City, declared that the leader of the Covenant, the sword and the arm of the Lord, James Ellison, was a prophet full of vision who would unite the attending groups of Elohim City so they could do battle with the so called Zionist Occupied Government or ZOG as they called it. That is the US Federal government or the Beast as many called our government. It's spring break time or maybe you are already planning your summer vacation. Vacation season is here this year. Treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve with Quince's high quality travel essentials at fair prices like lightweight European linen styles from $30, washable silk tops and comfy lounge sets. Pair it with premium luggage options and stylish tote bags to carry it all. The best part, all Quint's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands because they have partnered directly with top factories, cutting out the cost of the middleman and passing the savings on to us. This year I need to upgrade my luggage situation. So here it is. It's easy. I go to quince.com I click on the Travel tab and I scroll down and I browse all of the fantastic carry on and check in suitcases that they have available at great prices and great styles. They also have packing cubes and toiletry bags. Everything you can think of for travel essentials. I think I'm going to get me one of the front pocket carry on hard shell suitcases 21 inch for your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from quince. Go to quince.com garage for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I n c e.com garage to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.com garage you all know what speed dating is, right? Well, if you're the owner of a growing business, what if there was a feature like speed dating only for hiring? In other words, you could meet several.

Captain (47:42)

Yes. And we've certainly reviewed all, all of those different levels here in the garage. We said, 1983 will be a busy year for Richard Snell. And it was, in fact, just that. And we're going to circle back into 83 here in a minute, but let's go to 1984. Now, this is when a. An African American state trooper attempted to pull Richard Snell over for a simple traffic Violation. This is in the state of Arkansas. When the trooper. The state trooper, his name is Lewis Bryant. When he approached Snell's vehicle, Snell got out and shot him. So he shot him multiple times and even shot him again while the trooper was lying on the ground. This killed Officer Bryant. He drove off after this. Now, this story is one that is not reported at length in the news reports, and it's a very tragic story. It's a very sad story. There's parts of this, though, that. I mean, it's. Truth is stranger than fiction. You can't write this stuff. Officer Bryant's wife stumbled upon his cruiser and his body lying there, and she calls for help, and they attempt to try to save this man. He was a young man. I believe he was in his mid to late 20s. So a young man with a young family is gunned down by this racist jerk on the side of the road. But what we get here, Captain, is a trucker. There was a witness that saw this go down, and he's like, you know what? I'm gonna follow that car. I'm gonna follow the murderer so I can help police catch this dude. So this guy follows him all the way to a place called Broken Bow, Oklahoma. They. They get the police there. They know that they're looking for this car. They have the car description from the witnesses of who shot this state trooper. They surround the vehicle in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, and Snell's not willing to surrender. He gets in a gun battle, a gunfight with the authorities there. Now, this is one of the better parts of the story here, my friend, because Richard Snell was shot six times during the course of this gun battle, and he was ushered off to the hospital. He was in critical condition, but they ultimately were able to save his life. And so he was going to face a trial now for killing this officer of the law. People that knew Snell immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was a race matter, that because the officer was black and Snell was a white supremacist, white separatist, that he chose to gun down the officer. There's certainly reason to believe that.

Captain (53:45)

But that's not good enough for Snell. This guy turns his back, and after opening the. He's not even able to turn around. After opening up the safe, he still got his back turned while he's opening up the safe for Snell. Snell shoots him in the back and they kill this William Stump. One of the men there was a straight up lookout. One of the men there did enter the pawn shop with Snell and they took off. The three of them, I believe they only got away with like $90 in cash. They did get away with some jewelry and some guns and some other items that they took from the pawn shop as well. But as the story goes, the accomplices would later tell authorities that Snell told them that he killed the man. He killed William Stumpp because William Stumpp was a Jew and he deserved to die. And it wasn't just good enough to rob him. So this is the definition of a hate crime. He could have robbed this dude and just left. But no. Snells determined that this guy was Jewish and therefore he had to be killed in the commission of this robbery. And as all the reports go, Captain, it was mistaken identity that he wasn't a Jewish man. And so that's the story according to his accomplices. So what he's going to face is two different charges, right? He's charged with murder, with homicide twice, but he would be facing life for one of the charges of murder and potential death penalty in the other case. We get a pretty easy conviction here because the two men that were with him, remember we mentioned a Steve Scott earlier, this was a man that seemed to run around quite a bit with Snell and probably helped him commit a lot of crimes. And we're going to get into another failed crime of theirs. The other man was William Thomas. So both of these guys were fellow members of the csa, that hate group, and they both turned on Snell, testifying against him at his trial. Now this one is, is a more lighthearted story in that there are no victims here, but one of the crimes that these three idiots attempted to carry out was there was a pipeline, a gas, a natural gas pipeline in Fulton, Arkansas. And these three geniuses had the idea of, well, let's blow up the pipeline. And then the pipe will, will continue to, to funnel natural gas up to the explosion point and we will have a forever burning torch. They wanted to create some kind of spectacle, right? This, this eternal torch that would burn from this pipeline that they destroyed. So this is in Fulton, Arkansas, 1983. However, the explosives that they used, these guys didn't understand that the explosive will, it essentially blows up to the point of least resistance, right? So if you put the explosives on the outside of this heavily fortified metal or lead or whatever it was, pipeline, the least resistance is going to be everywhere else but the pipeline. Right, because it's all air. It's airspace. So they attempted to blow a hole in this pipeline, and it did. It did nothing. I mean, their explosives, they blew up successfully. They just didn't do any damage to the pipeline.