Phineas Priests are members of a terrorist organization operating inside the United States. The group derives its name and convictions from the Biblical story of a priest named Phineas who, by slaying an Israelite and his 'heathen' wife, saved the people of Israel from a plague from God. Phineas Priests are described as Christian white supremacists who are strongly anti-Semitic, anti-racial mixing (as was the original Phineas), and anti-abortion. Members following its ideology desire a Christian-only, white-only state in North America. <p><br />Similar to other white supremacist organizations in the United States, the Priesthood operates in extreme secrecy and believes in 'leaderless resistance,' tactics that ensure members escape detection and the organization is protected from infiltration. Although individual action is paramount, Priests desire to ignite a racial revolution, rather than merely gain members for the organization. As a result of the secrecy employed, it is difficult to determine exactly when the group was formed or obtain an accurate accounting of its membership and supporters. In part, this is because, unlike other supremacist or extremist organizations in the United States, the Phineas Priests is not a membership organization in the traditional sense: there are no meetings, rallies or newsletters. Rather, extremists become 'members' when they commit 'Phineas acts,' any violent activity against 'non-whites.' <p><br />The Priesthood is commonly referred to as a terrorist, paramilitary arm of Christian Identity, a radical, Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity that maintains white Europeans are the true Chosen people. The Phineas Priesthood cross and the inscription '25:6', the chapter and verse in the Book of Numbers telling the Phineas story, are Priesthood symbols often present at the meetings and rallies of Christian Identity, Aryan Nations, and other white-supremacist, extremist organizations. <p><br />As a group, the Phineas Priests has not conducted any major attacks. However, individuals professing to be Phineas Priesthood members have engaged in terrorist activities such as bombing, robbery, murder and arson. Convicted bank robbers and bombers, Charles Harrison Barbee, Verne Jay Merrell, Robert Sherman Berry, and Brian Edward Ratigan, are several self-professed members of the Phineas Priesthood.  Operating as individuals or in small groups of two or three individuals, Priests carry out attacks targeting Jews, racially-mixed individuals, non-white ethnicities, abortion clinics and their personnel, banks, and the government, whom they view as being run by Jews and other 'undesirables.'  <br /><br /><br />