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Matt Hale, the leader of the racist World Church of Creator, announced last July he was applying to the Montana Bar Association for a license to practice law in Montana. In late November, Roger Roots, a Montana native, was denied a license to practice law in Rhode Island. The two stories are similar.

MHRN became very familiar with Roots back in 1994 when he sued the Network for libel after it called him a Klan organizer. In 1997, a jury ruled in MHRN's favor. Roots' involvement in the racist movement is well documented. He was an associate of John Abarr, a Klan organizer in Montana and Wyoming throughout the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Roots authored a pamphlet Whites and Blacks: 100 Facts (and One Lie). Among other things, the pamphlet states whites are more intelligent than people of color and suggests people of color should be classified as a different species. Whites and Blacks can still be found on racist websites, including those of David Duke and the Aryan National Alliance/Aryan Nations.

Roots also supported anti-Semite Red Beckman during Beckman's battles with the IRS over income tax evasion. Serving as a correspondent for The Jubilee, Roots frequently wrote articles supporting Beckman. The Jubilee is a Christian Identity publication. Identity is a racist theology claiming people of color are subhuman beasts and Jews are the literal children of Satan. At The Jubilee, Roots also wrote articles denying the Holocaust.

In 1999, Roots graduated with honors from Ralph R. Papitto School of Law at Rhode Island's Roger Williams University and passed the bar exam. The state's Committee on Character and Fitness interviewed Roots and examined his record. Although the committee narrowly voted to approve Roots' application, the Rhode Island Supreme Court said, "the committee's troubled majority vote was far from a resounding endorsement" for Roots' admission to the bar. The court denied Roots a law license. It ultimately based its decision on Roots' criminal past, his lack of candor and truthfulness on his application and his anti-government views. The court did say Roots can reapply in two years.

Matt Hale's battle with the Illinois Character and Fitness Committee and Supreme Court is a slightly different. Hale was denied a license to practice law by the committee, because he lacked the moral character to practice law after spending his life inciting racial hatred. Hale appealed the denial to the Illinois Supreme Court which upheld the committee's decision. He then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which refused to hear the case. Hale has now applied to the Montana Bar Association for a license.

For the time being, neither Hale nor Roots has a license to practice law. Matt Hale is already taking the steps to practice law in Montana. We will have to wait to see if Roots follows suit. If Hale is unsuccessful, MHRN doubts Roots will try. There are two major obstacles facing Roots and Hale. In Montana, an applicant has to be approved by the Character and Fitness Committee before taking the bar exam. The committee also takes into account if an applicant has already been denied a license in another state.