William E. Riker

William Edward Riker (February 17, 1873 – December 3, 1969) was a White supremacist religious leader who founded the community of Holy City, California, and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor.

Riker was born in California in 1873. He worked as a palm reader and later traveled as a mind reader under the professional name "Professor Riker". Riker moved to Canada rather than face charges of bigamy in San Francisco. In Canada, Riker established "The Perfect Christian Divine Way" religious doctrine which emphasized White supremacy, Racial segregation, Gender segregation, and abstinence from alcohol and sex.

In 1918, Riker returned to the United States and purchased 75 acres (30 ha) of land near Los Gatos outside of San Jose. He used the property to found the religious commune of Holy City, which Riker said he had been instructed to do through messages from God.

Eventually increasing the commune to 200 acres (81 ha), Riker developed it into a road-side tourist attraction which included an observatory, gas station, dance hall, restaurant and penny peep show machines. Along the roadway entering Holy City, Riker placed nine Santa Claus statues and a billboard that read "Headquarters for the World's Most Perfect Government."

In 1929 Riker added a radio station with the call letters KFQU, which broadcast popular programming as well as his personal message. The station closed after two years when Riker's license was revoked for irregularities.

Riker ran for political office on a White Supremacy platform, advocating that Black and Asian Americans be banned from owning businesses in California. In one of his political pamphlets titled The Emancipator, Riker wrote:

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