Gordon Kahl was known for his involvement in two shootouts with law enforcement officers that ultimately led to his own death on June 3, 1983 at age 63.
A World War II veteran, North Dakota farmer, and tax protester, Kahl was one of the leaders of a group known as “Posse Comitatus,” a loosely organized, right-wing extremist group which began in Oregon in the late 1960s, whose members engage in paramilitary training and oppose nearly every action of the federal government—particularly the collection of income taxes. According to a file released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the group targeted Jews, African Americans, and government officials above the rank of sheriff. The Posse held the federal government as an illegitimate power, and recognized lawful authority only on the county level, advocating tax rebellion.
Starting in the late 1960s, Kahl refused to file his federal income taxes on the grounds that the American government operated under “The Communist Manifesto” and violated his religious principles. He had been jailed several times in Midland, Texas in the late 1970s for failure to file federal income tax returns, according to the Midland Police Department.
According to accounts from the U.S. Marshals’ website and reports in the Devils Lake Journal, Kahl and a group of others were leaving a meeting in Medina, N.D. and departing in their cars on Feb. 13, 1983. Nearby, accompanied by local law enforcement personnel, U.S. Marshal Kenneth Muir and several Deputy U.S. Marshals including Robert Cheshire and James Hopson had established a roadblock preparing to serve a warrant on Kahl for violating his probation on a tax evasion conviction.
As the marshals approached a vehicle that they suspected held Kahl, automatic gunfire erupted from the vehicle, killing Muir and Cheshire, and wounding Hopson and two other law enforcement officers. Kahl’s 23-year-old son Yorie, who was later arrested, was also wounded during the exchange of gunfire, while Kahl fled the scene.
The U.S. Marshals Service issued a $25,000 reward for information leading to Kahl’s capture. According to a United Press International story published on Feb. 19, 1983, Kahl’s neighbor and fellow farmer Marvin Brakel at first contended that the gunfight could have been avoided but later acknowledged that Kahl had vowed he would “not be taken alive” and go back to prison.
Despite public appeals from his wife Joan to turn himself in and avoid further bloodshed, Kahl immediately fled North Dakota, traveling first to Texas and then to Arkansas. By March, Kahl was in hiding, shuttling back and forth between the residences of 74-year-old Arthur Russell in Mountain Home, and fellow Posse Comitatus member Leo Ginter in Lawrence County, Ark. Russell’s 28-year-old daughter, Karen Russell Robertson, uneasy that Kahl was staying with her father, alerted the FBI on May 31, and on June 3, the Ginter house was surrounded by law enforcement officers.
Lawrence County Sheriff Gene Matthews, with two SWAT teams and several Arkansas state troopers attempted to arrest Kahl. As Ginter engaged with police outside, Matthews and a deputy marshal entered the house, where, according to the official police report, Matthews and Kahl fired on each other simultaneously. Kahl was killed instantly, while Matthews was badly wounded by a shotgun blast. As Matthews was removed by the deputy marshal, a tear gas cannister that had been shot into the house ignited a fire that burned for hours. Despite wearing a bulletproof vest, Matthews later died that day from blood loss.
Kahl’s charred body was found in the wreckage of the house. Many different accounts of Kahl’s life and death continue to be shared, including those who view Kahl as a martyr who stood against government persecution.