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.
ALTERNATE NAMES: Church of Jesus Christ Christian
Group Status: Active
In the 1970s, Richard Butler, a leader in the racist and antisemitic Christian Identity religious sect, moved to northern Idaho, where he created Aryan Nations (also known as the Church of Jesus Christ Christian), a white supremacist group that combined Christian Identity with neo-Nazism. In the 1980s, Aryan Nations became one of the most notorious white supremacist groups in the United States, thanks to its highly visible World Congresses and the reputation of its members for violence and criminal activities. Butler’s advanced age and declining health caused the group to decline in the late 1990s; after his death in 2004, Aryan Nations lapsed into a substantial period of disintegration and factional fighting, with various groups claiming the mantle of Aryan Nations (and using its logo) until they too fell apart. Because the Aryan Nations name has “brand” power, new groups still periodically arise that resurrect the name and logo of Aryan Nations or variations thereof.
The Aryan Nations logo consists of a Wolfsangel symbol with a crown-topped sword replacing the crossbar. Typically, this image appears on a blue shield. The most common version of the logo features these items against the backdrop of a red square or rectangle, with four blue and white “rays” stretching out from the shield to the four corners of the square/rectangle. A variation of the symbol features the above-described image replacing the field of stars in a U.S. flag.
Aryan Nations, the neo-Nazi group, should not be confused with the Tennessee-based white supremacist prison gang of the same name.
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