Johnny Bob: The Life and Times of John R. Harrell of Louisville, Illinois

Visionary, Man of God, Cult Leader, Fugitive, Inmate, Patriot.John R. Harrell of Louisville, IL, far better known as JohnnyBob, was--rightfully or not--called all those things during hislong, colorful life. A deeply religious, independently wealthyman, in the 1960s, Harrell was known throughout the Midwestfor his eccentric estate (which included a full-size replica ofWashington's Mt. Vernon) and the rogue Louisville-basedreligious colony he founded which many labeled a cult.In August of 1961, U.S. federal agents stormed his Louisvilleproperty to retrieve an AWOL Marine who had taken refuge onHarrell's sovereign grounds. This military action, involvingover 100 armed officers, was national news and set off a chainof events in the U.S. courts, in military tribunals, and eventuallyacross the United States as Harrell and his family becamefugitives, running from the law.This book retraces Johnny Bob Harrell's nine decades from hisclaims of an early miracle healing to the founding of hisreligious community to the '61 siege, and Harrell's subsequentlife as fugitive, federal inmate, and right-wing provocateur