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William Dudley Pelley (1890-1965) was born in Lynn, Massachussetts to a poor family. As a young man, he was a published journalist and short story writer. His anti-Semetic views initially formed when he joined the Red Cross in Siberia during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). During his service in the Red Cross, he began to subscribe to the theory of Jewish Communism, which purported that Jews were dominant in Communist movements throughout the world. Upon returning to the United States, Pelley became a screenwriter in Hollywood. Pelley's anti-Semetic feelings increased as he perceived himself as being mistreated by Jewish studio executives. In 1929, Pelley claimed to have an out-of-body spiritual experience in which Christian dieties instructed him to spiritually transform the United States by promoting Christianity and opposing "forces of evil" (Jews and Communists). Pelley was a great admirer of Hitler and his anti-Semetic views. He studied Hitler's philosophies and speeches, and was inspired to form the Silver Legion of America (also known as the "Silver Shirts") in 1933. The Silver Legion was a paramilitary organization that was modelled off of Hitler's Brownshirts. The organization portrayed themselves as a Protestant Christian movement created to restore a new Christian led society and government. The Silver Legion of America was based out of Ashville, North Carolina, but Pelley and other Silver Legion members were active in recruiting members nationwide. The Washington State liaison officer was Orville W. Roundtree. The legion was especially active in Oregon, California, and Washington in the 1930s. The legion's ideologies embraced white supremacy, anti-Semitism, racism, anti-Communistm, isolationism, and British Israelism. Silver Legion members wore Nazi-style silver uniform shirts with an "L" emblem, which symbolied loyalty to the United States, liberation from materialism, and the Silver Legion. Membership peaked in 1935 with a reported 15,000 members. In 1936, Pelley ran for president as head of the Christian Party, which he founded. Pelley only managed to get on the ballot in Washington State, and only received 1,598 votes. In 1936, Pelley visited Washington, and the Silver Lodge was erected on the property of Ruby Johnson in Redmond, Washington. The lodge was used as a meeting place for Silver Legion members. Over time, memberhip in the legion waned. In 1942, the legion was effectively dissolved due to a number of factors. Pelley had accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of being a Jewish stooge in a worldwide conspiracy, and Roosevelt instructed the FBI to shut the legion down. Pelley's office was raided, he was arrested and found guilty of multiple acts of sedition, and police were instructed to arrest any individuals associated with the legion.