SPOKANE, Wash. — A new movie starring Jude Law hits theaters Friday with a local connection many in the Inland Northwest would rather forget.
The movie, titled “The Order” is based on a true story involving a domestic terrorist group with the same name. Much of the group’s story played out right here in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area.
‘The Order’ is a radical group that started from Aryan Nations, a Neo-Nazi group that was headquartered near Hayden Lake 40 years ago.
Wayne Manis was the lead FBI agent on The Order case. He retired from the FBI in 1994 but still lives in the North Idaho home he and his wife built around the same time he was tracking down one of America’s first domestic terrorist groups.
“They assassinated, they bombed a synagogue, they did armored car robberies, multiple armored car robberies, bank robberies, they did counterfeit,” Manis said.
Manis, now 84 years old, still clearly remembers the most unique case he covered, now embellished in a new movie.
“It’s not a documentary, for sure, because it’s Hollywood and they like to create their own truths,” Manis said.
Manis chronicled his version of the case in his book, The Street Agent. The book tells not only the story of The Order but his law enforcement journey as well.
“I’d gone from the KKK, the Dixie Mafia to the Italian Mafia and then got transferred to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho,” he said.
Manis arrived in Coeur d’Alene in February of 1984. 11 months later, he would be in a fiery shoot-out with the founder of The Order, Robert Matthews.
“Robert Matthews has formed a group of would-be terrorists and these people had decided there was too much talk, too much rhetoric and not enough action,” Manis said.
Matthews was a disciple of the Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler and attended services at the compound in Hayden Lake. He grew tired of the sermons and planned to go to war against the U.S. government in his desire for a whites-only nation.
Matthews’ big plan began with robberies in Spokane. Manis could see a pattern emerging in what appeared at first to be random crimes.
“I’m starting to put things together,” Manis said.
In June of 1984, Jewish radio talk show host Alan Berg was gunned down at his home in Denver, Colorado.
“And the Ukiah robbery comes down, big robbery. The Robbery of a Brink’s armored car truck loaded with money out of Ukiah, California. It’s robbed by a group of men, very organized, and they steal $3.6 million,” Manis explained.
It was this robbery that led Manis to more evidence connecting Robert Matthews and The Order to this slew of crimes.
The trail ended at a house on Whidbey Island.
“Bob Matthews will not surrender and we try everything,” Manis recalled.
Gunfire erupted and a flare accidentally set the home on fire.
“All of a sudden in my face, machine gun fire hitting the trees right near me. I’m thinking ‘He must have night vision,'” Manis said.
The standoff continued through the night. Despite Manis’ wish for Matthews to surrender, the house became engulfed in flames. Matthews was burned inside the home.
“I stand there in the darkness all night and watch the house until there’s nothing left but just smoldering ashes,” said Manis.
Along with Matthews, any possible prosecution and layers of evidence also burned in the fire.
“His final words were ‘We won’t care if you in Congress swung to the left or you swung to the right. We’ll simply swing you by the neck,'” Manis recalled.
Other members of The Order were eventually rounded up and convicted. The case was so significant that Hollywood picked it up and released the movie 40 years later.
“The movie fails to mention some really interesting and exciting things that happened with Bob Matthews and his organization,” Manis said. “I talked about them in my book, but they aren’t mentioned in the movie.”
While The Order is long gone, Manis says the ideology is still alive and well.
“He said our believers are still here, and the evil is still present in this country and it only takes a spark to ignite The Order again,” said Manis. “Personally from my investigation, my knowledge of different organizations and what I know about this area today, it’s true.”
You can order Manis’ book on Amazon to learn more about his endeavors in the FBI as well as a deeper dive into the truth of how they took down The Order.
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