Welcome to another exciting episode of Retracing Our Roots. This is our second installment exploring the rise and fall of the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, commonly known as the CSA.
Our crew, Heather Loftis, Sammy Raycraft, and Vincent Anderson, delves into the origins of the movement, beginning when founder Jim Ellison relocated from Texas to Elijah, Missouri, in the early 1970s. By 1976, he had purchased 224 acres just north of Oakland, Arkansas, in Marion County.
Today, we focus much of our attention on Kerry Noble, the CSA’s second-in-command and public spokesman.
From early 1984 through the beginning of autumn, the Marion County-based militia and cult, officially known as the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, was making headlines across the Ozarks. By the spring of 1985, the CSA had captured both national and international attention.
Locally labeled a survivalist group, the CSA occupied a 224-acre compound in the far northeastern corner of Marion County, near Oakland, Arkansas—just a stone’s throw from the Missouri state line.
Except for the occasional attention brought on it by media from outside the region, the CSA lived in relative obscurity. The CSA developed from a Baptist congregation, and they were locally known as the Zarephath-Horeb Community Church.
By the Summer of 1978, the church became radicalized. The CSA veered into unusual theology for the Ozark's region as it strengthened its White Identity or Superior Aryan Doctrine, in addition to its Plurality in Marriage. They believed they were soldiers and a haven for the coming End-Time & Tribulation Period, and they were planning for planning for Armageddon.
The CSA event came to an apex in April of 1985. More than 300 officers reportedly participated in the 1985 standoff and raid. Today, the CSA Compound acreage has been divided up, and the main base is private property. So, please respect the current owners.
In 2022, I met a new friend, Johnathan Green, and we took an adventure to visit and walk the former CSA compound.
Some of the key figures during the 1985 escalating events were:
CSA Elder, Theologian & Spokesman, Kerry Noble CSA Leader,
Head Pastor, Jim Ellison
Missouri State Highway Patrol, Stephen Bartlett / Air Surveillance - Command Post was out of his aircraft hangar
Marion County Sheriff, Roger Edmondson
Ozark County Sheriff, James Shaw & deputies
Baxter County Sheriff, Joe Edmonds & deputies
Major McPherson
Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson
Missouri Department of Conservation
FBI / Federal Bureau of Investigation
ATF / Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Arkansas State Police
Missouri Water Patrol
Minneapolis (Minnesota) Police Department K-9 unit
U.S. Corps of Engineers U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers
There are also a few stories on the CSA in Thelma Spencer's biography of former Ozark County Sheriff, Herman Pierce, "Sheriff Takes the Stand." It is currently out of print. Additionally, The Baxter Bulletin & other newspapers detailed the affair and can be found online at Newspapers.com
CSA Founder, Jim Ellison, died March 27th, 2021, at 11:15 from congestive heart failure at the age of 80 years.
Kerry Noble was a true representation of what repentance can do. While in prison, he began to see the error of his way, and he began to sound the alarm for others not to follow the path of White Supremacy. Kerry Noble wrote about his experiences in "Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction into Right-Wing Extremism" & "Tabernacle of Hope: Bridging Your Darkened Past Toward a Brighter Future."
Kerry Noble passed away January 9, 2023.
According to Kerry's oldest child, Tara, he went, "…into the hospital December 29, 2022, with pneumonia. He had a massive heart attack the morning before he was to have an angioplasty procedure done. Thank you for your prayers for the family."
With all the judgment & condemnation we can throw at one party or person, we should pause to look at our own hearts. In retrospect, sometimes we never realize the wooded path & journey our neighbor travels in a lifetime. Love is quick to forgive & restore.
We are deeply grateful to Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company for their steadfast support of Retracing Our Roots! This is local programming at its finest—bringing our community together through shared history. We couldn’t do it without the generosity of businesses like Rapp’s.
Next time you’re in Mountain Home, be sure to visit Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company and give a big thanks to Russell Tucker and his fantastic team for their support.
Sip – Savor – Sojourn – Retracing Our Roots
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Videos & Materials used in Research:
Vincent Anderson’s introduction to the video of the April 24, 1985 interview between Susan Ketchum and Kerry Noble concerning the operation and theology of the Covenant, the Sword & the Arm of the Lord C.S.A. in Oakland, Arkansas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8lVBPEqg7E
Kerry Noble's full, unedited interview with Susan Ketchum ofTV-43 Mtn. Home, Arkansas on
April 24, 1985. It is full-length, unedited & fascinating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiDYYZhEunE
Kerry Noble’s Books:
Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction into Right-Wing Extremism https://amzn.to/40AIrZH
Tabernacle of Hope: Bridging Your Darkened Past Toward a Brighter Future https://amzn.to/41T7dW8
FBI Records Vault, 2 PDFs at 70 pages each:
https://vault.fbi.gov/The%20Covenant%20The%20Sword%20The%20Arm%20of%20the%20Lord%20
