Chevie Kehoe is a white supremacist and convicted domestic terrorist who is serving life in federal prison without the possibility of release for a 1990s racketeering enterprise that included the murders of an Arkansas gun dealer, his wife, and her eight-year-old daughter. A federal jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas convicted him in May 1999 of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, and three counts of murder in aid of racketeering. He was sentenced the following month.1U.S. Department of Justice. Kehoe Opinion, Eastern District of Arkansas
Who He Is and Where He Came From
Kehoe was born in 1973 and named after his father’s favorite car. His father, Kirby Kehoe, was a Vietnam-era Navy veteran; both parents were white supremacists hostile to the federal government. As a tenth grader, Kehoe was reportedly an honor student who wanted to join the Air Force and become a pilot. His parents pulled him out of school and pushed him toward what they called becoming a “white warrior.”2The New York Times. How an Honor Student Became a White Warrior
In a later jail interview, Kehoe said of his father: “In my entire life, my dad always hated this or hated that and never gave me something to love or something to work toward.”2The New York Times. How an Honor Student Became a White Warrior
The Aryan Peoples’ Republic
Kehoe founded a group he called the Aryan Peoples’ Republic, aimed at carving a whites-only homeland out of the Pacific Northwest. Its core members were his brother Cheyne Kehoe, his father Kirby, and associates Daniel Lewis Lee and Faron Lovelace. Between 1995 and 1997, the group carried out murders, kidnappings, robberies of gun dealers, firearms violations, and shootouts with police across at least five states. Proceeds funded property near Priest River, Idaho, intended as a paramilitary training base.3ATF. Kehoe Brothers
Kehoe and his family were frequent visitors to Elohim City, a white supremacist compound in Oklahoma, and to the Aryan Nations compound in northern Idaho between 1993 and 1996. Kirby Kehoe supplied firearms to the Aryan Republican Army, including a Glock .45-caliber handgun used in a series of bank robberies across nine states between 1994 and 1996.4The Spokesman-Review. FBI: Aryan Gang Armed by Kehoes Used Weapons In Robberies
The Crimes
The Mueller Robbery and the Friedman Kidnapping
In February 1995, Chevie and his father robbed the Arkansas home of William Mueller, a licensed gun dealer, taking guns, gun parts, ammunition, and merchandise that was later resold across several states.5FindLaw. United States v. Kehoe, Eighth Circuit
Four months later, Kehoe and Faron Lovelace targeted Malcolm and Jill Friedman in Colville, Washington, because of what they took to be a “Jewish-sounding” name. The couple was actually Episcopalian. An armed intruder in camouflage broke into the home, held a gun to Jill Friedman’s head, and forced her to call her husband home from their grocery store. The couple was robbed, driven to Spokane, and released at a restaurant. The pair netted more than $15,000, which they used to buy the Idaho property that became the group’s base.6The Spokesman-Review. Supremacist a Suspect in Two Kidnappings
The Mueller Family Murders
On January 11, 1996, Kehoe and Daniel Lewis Lee returned to the Mueller home in Tilly, Arkansas, dressed as federal law enforcement officers. They restrained William Mueller, his wife Nancy Mueller, and Nancy’s eight-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell, and used a stun gun or cattle prod to force them to reveal where money and firearms were kept. They then suffocated all three by placing plastic bags over their heads and securing them with duct tape. The bodies were weighed with rocks, dumped in the Illinois Bayou, and discovered in Lake Dardanelle on June 28, 1996. The attackers took roughly $50,000 in cash and gold and about $30,000 in firearms and equipment.7Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Daniel Lewis Lee
Trial evidence indicated that Kehoe personally killed Sarah Powell after Lee refused to do so.8Equal Justice Initiative. Federal Government Executes Daniel Lee Despite Opposition
The Spokane City Hall Bombing
On April 29, 1996, a pipe bomb packed with nails and screws exploded outside the Post Street entrance of Spokane City Hall. The blast destroyed a window and sent shrapnel into Riverfront Park but caused no injuries.9The Spokesman-Review. Kehoe Tied to Bombing at City Hall The case went unsolved until Cheyne Kehoe publicly accused his brother in a 1998 television interview, saying Chevie set the bomb to test public reaction. Chevie called his brother a “liar and a traitor.” Prosecutors folded the bombing into the racketeering indictment.10Los Angeles Times. Trial of Kehoe Brothers
Other Alleged Killings
Cheyne Kehoe testified at trial that Chevie admitted to killing two former associates, Jeremy Scott in Washington and Jon Cox in Idaho. Cox was allegedly killed because he had revealed information about the group’s plans. The jury did not convict Kehoe on the count tied to Cox’s death, though the evidence was part of the broader racketeering case.5FindLaw. United States v. Kehoe, Eighth Circuit
The Ohio Shootout and Capture
On February 15, 1997, Ohio State Highway Patrolman Harold Harker pulled over a blue Chevrolet Suburban with expired Washington plates in Wilmington, Ohio. Chevie was driving; Cheyne was the passenger. Around 1:30 p.m., Cheyne jumped out and opened fire while Chevie tried to get back to the vehicle. The confrontation lasted 27 seconds and drew in a Clinton County sheriff’s deputy. Neither the deputy nor Cheyne was hurt in that exchange.11Clinton County History. Kehoe Shootout Remembered 25 Years Later
Chevie fled in the Suburban, fired roughly 33 rounds at responding Wilmington police officers, wounded a bystander in the arm, then abandoned the vehicle and escaped on foot. Both brothers became the subject of a large manhunt. Cheyne later turned himself in and began cooperating with authorities.5FindLaw. United States v. Kehoe, Eighth Circuit
On February 20, 1998, Chevie pleaded guilty in Ohio to attempted murder, felonious assault, and carrying a concealed weapon. Federal authorities agreed not to use the plea against him at his pending Arkansas trial, and Ohio sentencing was deferred.12The Spokesman-Review. Chevie Kehoe Admits to Shooting
Conviction and Life Sentence
A superseding federal indictment filed on July 7, 1998, in the Eastern District of Arkansas charged Kehoe with seven counts, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, and three capital counts of murder in aid of racketeering for the Mueller family killings. Two counts were dismissed before trial.1U.S. Department of Justice. Kehoe Opinion, Eastern District of Arkansas
Members of his own family were central witnesses. His mother, fearing for her life, had contacted ATF agents, helped lead investigators to the group, and later testified against her son.3ATF. Kehoe Brothers Cheyne also testified, describing Chevie’s admissions to the Mueller family murders and the two associate killings; his cooperation reduced his own exposure.10Los Angeles Times. Trial of Kehoe Brothers
On May 4, 1999, the jury convicted Kehoe on all five remaining counts. The government sought the death penalty, but the jury did not return a death sentence. On June 25, 1999, Kehoe was sentenced to life without the possibility of release on each of the three murder counts, with concurrent life sentences on the racketeering counts.1U.S. Department of Justice. Kehoe Opinion, Eastern District of Arkansas
The other members of the group were sentenced separately. Daniel Lewis Lee was convicted of the three Mueller murders and sentenced to death. Faron Lovelace was also convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Cheyne Kehoe received 24 years for the Ohio shootout charges. Kirby Kehoe pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 44 months.3ATF. Kehoe Brothers
Why His Codefendant Was Executed and He Wasn’t
The sentencing gap between Kehoe and Lee became one of the case’s most contested legacies. Local prosecutors and the victims’ family had initially agreed not to seek death for Lee given that Kehoe, widely regarded as the ringleader, had avoided it. The Justice Department overruled that recommendation, and the jury sentenced Lee to death.8Equal Justice Initiative. Federal Government Executes Daniel Lee Despite Opposition
Earlene Branch Peterson, the mother of Nancy Mueller, opposed Lee’s execution for years, noting that “the man who actually killed my daughter — when Danny Lee refused to do so — has been sentenced to life, not death.” She said executing Lee would not “honor my daughter in any way.”8Equal Justice Initiative. Federal Government Executes Daniel Lee Despite Opposition The lead prosecutor and the trial judge also expressed concern about the disparity. Lee was executed at USP Terre Haute on July 14, 2020, after a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling lifted a lower-court injunction. It was the first federal execution in 17 years.14ABC News. Judge Halts Federal Execution After Decades
Appeals and Current Status
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Kehoe’s conviction on direct appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on May 19, 2003. He later filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 arguing ineffective assistance of counsel, claiming his trial lawyers had used race-based peremptory strikes against white jurors to seat more African American jurors. The Eighth Circuit rejected the claim in 2013.13FindLaw. United States v. Kehoe, Eighth Circuit (2013) Kehoe remains in federal custody with no possibility of release.