Neo-Nazi Seized; Suspect in Talk Show Host’s Death

Bruce Carroll Pierce, leader of a militant neo-Nazi group and alleged triggerman in the slaying of an outspoken Jewish talk show host in Denver, was arrested Tuesday night three blocks from an FBI office.

Pierce, 30, was armed with three guns when he was arrested near his brown van, which contained an arsenal of guns, grenades, pipe bombs and other weapons. He offered no resistance when surrounded by three FBI SWAT teams.

Agent John Burke said Pierce was considered the most wanted man in the West after he took over the leadership of The Order, whose members are accused of staging armored car robberies on the West Coast to finance revolutionary activities.

Pierce, of Metaline Falls, Wash., was taken 100 miles south to Atlanta, where he was to appear later today before a federal magistrate. He was held on charges of failure to appear for sentencing in Washington state, violation of the federal Firearms Act and the robbery of an armored car in Washington.

Acting on a tip, about 40 agents armed with shotguns and rifles staked out the offices of an answering service--three blocks from the FBI office--in the tiny community of Rossville, just south of Chattanooga, Tenn. The agents captured Pierce as he arrived to pick up a letter.

Denver police believe Pierce led a four-man hit squad that killed Alan Berg, an acerbic radio talk-show host who frequently argued with neo-Nazis, in the driveway of his home last June 18.

Also linked to the Berg slaying were Robert Mathews, founder of The Order, Denver neo-Nazi leader David Lane and Richard Scutari. Lane and Scutari still are at large. Mathews died in a shoot-out with federal agents near Seattle last December.