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Landmark Case

Mansfield v. Church of the Creator

Case Number

94-345

'Church' bent on 'holy war'
On May 17, 1991, a member of a white supremacist organization called the Church of the Creator murdered Navy Shipman Harold Mansfield, an African American sailor who served in the Gulf War. After Center investigators documented the group's violent history, racist enterprises and purpose, the Center sued and obtained a $1 million default judgment against the so-called "Church."

The "Church's" mission is to preach "Creativity," which asks its followers to "purify" the white race, eliminating "mud races" and Jews from the earth. Leaders swear an oath of loyalty to the white race and encourage followers to show loyalty by committing acts to bring about "RAHOWA," an abbreviation for Racial Holy War.

Prior to the conclusion of the case, the COTC transferred ownership of its headquarters to the late neo-Nazi leader William Pierce to keep it from falling into the hands of Mansfield's heirs. In 1995, the Center sued Pierce in Mansfield v. Pierce, for his role in the fraudulent scheme, and won an $85,000 judgment. All of the money went to Mansfield's mother, Connie Mansfield.