All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.
Group Status: Legacy (the group is no longer active but some symbols may remain as tattoos, graffiti, etc.)
The Order, also sometimes known as Brüder Schweigen or the Silent Brotherhood, was a white supremacist terrorist group that operated in the Pacific Northwest in the early to mid-1980s. Led by Robert Jay Mathews, it numbered a couple of dozen members, who committed assassinations, armed robberies, and bombings in an attempt to spark a white revolution. Law enforcement eventually arrested all members of the group, except for Mathews, who died in a shootout with the FBI. The surviving members of the group received lengthy prison sentences. Even decades later, the members of The Order are considered heroes and martyrs by American white supremacists.
The phrase on the banner around the shield in the logo reads: "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war." This is a biblical reference; the next passage is "for with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms."
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