How The Worst Person From North Dakota Died

Sit back, relax, and let's recount the tale of how Gordon Kahl, quite possibly the worst person from the Peace Garden State, was shuffled off the mortal coil.

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To start things off, we need to go back to 1983, shortly after The Medina Tragedy, in which Kahl and his associates murdered United States Marshal Kenneth H. Muir and Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert S. Cheshire, Jr.

Among the leaders of the loosely structured, armed vigilante group known as "Posse Comitatus" was Kahl. Members of this group have received paramilitary training and are opposed to almost all federal government actions, most notably the collection of income taxes. The organization has similar ideals to the Sovereign Citizen brand of deep thinkers.

Photo credit: usmarshals.gov

A group of about 100 law enforcement officers, including members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local agencies, descended upon the Kahl family farmhouse near Heaton, North Dakota, two days after the Medina Tragedy.

Law enforcement discovered a significant amount of weapons and ammunition at the home, but the elusive Gordon Kahl remained missing. Kahl's wife and injured son were among the five suspects in the killings that had been taken into custody by that point, but the father remained at large and evaded the intense manhunt.

The Attorney General granted the greatest reward in service history—$25,000—for information that led to Gordon Kahl's arrest, demonstrating the high attention this investigation has received.

In addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement representatives from numerous states and Canada, a large number of important Marshals Service employees, including Marshals, Inspectors, and Deputies, are working full-time on the manhunt. All of the involved entities have demonstrated an amazing attitude of cooperation.

Following the Muir/Cheshire killings, Gordon Kahl was the subject of a countrywide manhunt that ended in June with his capture in Arkansas. Extremists, including Kahl, Scott Faul, and Yorivon, Kahl's son, were found to be accountable for the ambush of the two US Marshals.

Following Gordon Kahl's escape, the FBI and the Marshals Service launched a combined task force operation to find him. Yorivon Kahl and Scott Faul were found guilty of murder during the search and given sentences.

After that, Gordon Kahl was found in Arkansas, where he was shot and killed during an attempt to apprehend him.