Matthew F. Hale
Matthew F. Hale | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1971 |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Marion |
| Conviction | Soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill Judge Joan Lefkow |
| Criminal penalty | 40-year prison term |
| Title | Pontifex Maximus |
| Personal life | |
| Born | July 27, 1971 |
| Nationality | American |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Creativity |
| Senior posting | |
| Period in office | 1996–2005 |
| Successor | James Logsdon |
| Other names | Matt Hale |
| Education | Bradley University (B.A.); Southern Illinois University Carbondale (J.D.) |
| Years active | 1983–2005 |
| Known for | White supremacy, federal soliciting to murder conviction |
Matthew Frederick Hale (born July 27, 1971) is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi leader and convicted felon. Hale was the founder of the East Peoria, Illinois-based white separatist group then known as the World Church of the Creator (now called The Creativity Movement), and he declared himself its Pontifex Maximus (Latin for "highest priest") in continuation of the Church of the Creator organization founded by Ben Klassen in 1973.
In 1998, Hale was barred from practicing law in Illinois by the state panel responsible for evaluating the character and fitness of prospective lawyers. The panel stated that Hale's incitement of racial hatred, for the ultimate purpose of depriving selected groups of their legal rights, was blatantly immoral and rendered him unfit to be a lawyer.
In 2005, Hale was sentenced to a 40-year federal prison term for encouraging an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant to kill federal judge Joan Lefkow. As of July 2020, Hale was transferred out of ADX Florence and into United States Penitentiary, Marion in Illinois. His current projected release date is April 29, 2036.