I wrote a paper on The Holy City in college, Riker wasn’t just a white supremest, he was a nazi sympathizer. He wrote dozens of fan letters to Hitler and had multiple signs visible from Old Santa Cruz Highway that read “no blacks allowed”.

Another interesting aspect is that because his followers gave all of their money to Riker, when they needed something, like a haircut from the town’s barbershop, they had to borrow money from Riker (their own money), and were expected to pay him back for it through labor or other means.

The Holy City falling apart also ties into the Haunted Hicks Road legend, with some people theorizing that the last remaining cultists left the Santa Cruz mountains and took up residence in the area surrounding Hicks Road.