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It is more likely--and in a way more disturbing--that he acted alone. The real question is, How many other single white supremacists are out there, blessed by the doctrine of Christian Identity and fueled by hatred and the pursuit of the Phineas priesthood? The Rev. Richard Butler of Aryan Nations told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last week that Furrow had probably been motivated by "the war against the white race." Furrow himself said as much to the authorities. "You can say he was sick, but [the supremacists] gave him a focus for his sickness," says veteran cult watcher Rick Ross. "His involvement with the movement let him project his concerns outward."
Law-enforcement officials fear that the ranks of the disenchanted are growing--and that they will be harder than ever to track if, like Furrow, men begin operating alone. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups nationwide, there are between 35,000 and 50,000 adherents in 100 Christian Identity ministries. Even though supremacist rallies are often sparsely attended, Joe Roy, intelligence director at the Alabama-based center, notes that there have been 10 times as many episodes of domestic terrorism, including hate-based murders and bombings in abortion clinics and newspapers, as the 100 such cases that were recorded in the U.S. in 1995, when Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City federal building.
After the shooting last week, the Internet was peppered with hate messages like this one: "Recent events should remind jews [sic] that they are indeed an unwelcome minority in this country and should leave one and all...let the killings begin!" According to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, the number of hate websites has ballooned from one to more than 2,000 in the past four years. "The Internet has been the greatest thing since fire for these groups," says Roy. "They can potentially reach millions now."
One man they won't be reaching is Buford O. Furrow. Currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, he could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of California charges of murder and attempted murder. He also faces federal charges for illegal-weapons possession and the murder of a U.S. Postal Service carrier during the performance of his duties. "There was always an aura of the macabre around him," says Furrow's classmate Merrill. "He fits the portrait of someone who would do this...on the other hand, he doesn't at all." Furrow's one expression of regret last week: He hadn't intended to hurt any children. "The kids," he told investigators, "got in the way."
--Reported by Pat Dawson/Metaline Falls, Julie Grace/Nisqually Valley, David S. Jackson/Los Angeles, Michael Krantz/Seattle, Flora Tartakovsky/New York and Dick Thompson/Washington