Aryan Republican Army

The Aryan Republican Army (ARA), also dubbed "The Midwest Bank bandits" by the FBI and law-enforcement, was a white nationalist terrorist gang which robbed 22 banks in the Midwest from 1994 to 1996. The bank robberies were spearheaded by Donna Langan. The gang, who had links to Neo-Nazism and white supremacism, were alleged to have conspired with convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh in the months before the Oklahoma City bombing terrorist attack. Although it has never been proven, many theorists believe the ARA funneled robbery money to help fund the bombing as a direct response to the Waco and Ruby Ridge sieges.

Inspired to rob banks in order to support white supremacist movements by Mark Thomas, the ARA, founded in 1992 by Langan and her best friend from school Richard Lee Guthrie Jr., considered itself a leaderless organization. Although the group was mainly a criminal enterprise, its agenda was terrorist like. After filming and producing right-wing propaganda videos, the group grew and recruited bank robber affiliates: Michael Brescia, Shawn Kenny, Kevin McCarthy, and Scott Stedeford. With the bank heist money, the gang began to stockpile weapons and ammunition in preparation for a future race war. At bank after bank, the bandits became infamous due to the fact that they left their signature decoy grenades and their pipe bombs as calling cards, a strategy which was implemented to help the gang escape and delay the FBI's pursuit. The bandits used a strict time keeper who called out at elapsed intervals and made sure that they were in and out of the heists within 90 seconds. The time keeping, along with the members wearing of presidential masks, were moves which were believed to be lifted directly from the Kathryn Bigelow film Point Break. In addition to wearing Nixon, Reagan and Clinton masks, the ARA also wore jackets and hats emblazoned with "FBI," "ATF" or other law-enforcement acronyms.

The FBI was unaware of the existence of the ARA until one of its members was apprehended. In early 1996, the group began to fall apart as its members were arrested after former members of the group became informants as part of a plea bargain. Guthrie was arrested in Cincinnati on January 15, 1996, concluding a 2-hour chase by FBI agents. Soon after, Guthrie gave up his counterpart Langan. Three days later on January 18, 1996, the FBI arrested Langan after a 50-round shoot out near a safe house in Columbus, Ohio.