Ozarks at Large Stories

The "Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord"

KUAF | By Jacqueline Froelich

Published March 18, 2015 at 1:53 PM CDT

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Aerial view of CSA main compound

Kerry Noble

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Jim Ellison founder and leader of the Covenant Sword and Arm of the Lord in 1982

Kerry Noble

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Kerry Noble wearing CSA uniform 1982, served as Jim Ellison’s second lieutenant";

Kerry Noble

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“Silhouette City” log structure , CSA compound";s:

Kerry Noble

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Practice gun range on CSA compound

Arkansas State Police

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Target resembling state trooper emblazoned with Jewish star

Arkansas State Police

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One of a dozen houses on the compound

Arkansas State Police

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Seized anti-tank rocket, grenades and homemade explosives

Arkansas State Police

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Arkansas State Police SWAT team members (from left) Tommy Hill, J.M. Scarberough and Phillip Valez

Arkansas State Police

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Troop L SWAT team at CSA siege (from left) Bill Burnett, Les Braunns, Keith Ferguson, Charlie Brooks, Rocky Baker, Robin Casey, Joe Hutchins, Dennis Johnston

Arkansas State Police

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Kerry Noble as he appears today

Kerry Noble

In the spring of 1985, hundreds of federal and state law enforcement agents stormed a north Arkansas Ozarks farm where members of the “Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord,” a survivalist paramilitary commune, were sequestered. Based on redacted FBI records and interviews with two key sources, Jacqueline Froelich recounts the history.

MUSIC: "Covenant Woman"