Story and Photos by Dennis Eichhorn Yot huart etahl el ynceaon- N’ t agzoi sh ohma vee amg aovi ne.dTi hna, ts’ so me septehciinagl l ynet rwu eh ai fs yboeue’ nr eafdr do emd ,I daanhdos, ol imk ee tmh ien. gNoolwd inLSikuen h a I V s s a a bl i l e d e e y , n I a ’ t m n a d k f e r M o n m c a C w I a d a ll a y , h . p o Il n . a y I o ’e v t d e h e a fo r lw o w t a b o y a r s l d l f s e a , l t t t h t c h i o n e m - g U s fo n h r i t v a a e v b r e l s e ci t h t y h a e in n r g e e M . d I o . g s croe ww. uI pf oi nu gBhoti sf oe ,r epsatr taine dd rhaenl l gael lf iorveesr fIrdoamh oo. nIekennodwowf ht haet Isdt aa ht eo tios tahl le aobtohuetr, , atne dndi et dd obeasrna’ tnsdu rbpurciks ee dmbea ltehsa ta nt hde rwa ihsietde supremacists and neo-Nazis have established a beachhead in the northern part of the state. For one thing, Idaho has always been lily-white. People have moved there for years to get away from the cities and people of color. The Mormon Church, with its understated policy of racial discrimination, is a bowerful force in Idaho. In some ways, Idaho is much like a Southern state. In 1960, it was the only state west of the Mississippi to cast a majority of votes for George Wallace. There are plenty of ex-Southern crackers in them thar hills. Racist jokes abound in Idaho. The John Birch Society and the Minutemen have long been vocal, visible presences. Now there are more American Nazi party ' members and Ku Klux Klansmen than ever before. I remember right-wing billboards everywhere. You’ll be driving along enjoying the scenery, when suddenly you’ll come upon a huge red-white- and-blue billboard adorned with the image of a stern Uncle Sam that reads “THEY’LL PRY MY GUN FROM MY DEAD, COLD FIST.” Welcome to Idaho. Guns, and the right to own and keep them, are a big issue in Idaho. People there cherish their shootin’ irons. Ranchers are always getting caught with barns full of artillery, everything from automatic rifles to anti-aircraft guns. Nobody thinks much about it, because nearly everyone has gun collections of their own. These are all factors that led to the invasion of the neo-Nazis. But probably the biggest draw was the Code of the West, Idaho-style. It’s a simple code: Live and let live. You mind your business and I’ll tend to mine. Do what you like, but don’t have sex in front of my kids or impose your moral values on me or mine. Don’t get in my face, and if you do, be prepared for the consequences. Don’t bother me and I won’t bother you. The neo-Nazis and white supremacists have taken full advantage of Idaho’s lais- ser-faire cultural attitudes. They started organizing the state’s northern Panhandle region in the early 1970s. The first evidence of this was the emergence of thBe uPotslsee rC oamnitadtus , hain sa nAti-trax yvaign Nations’ brethren cI ml api me readt itvhee, ’rae gl ai orng ea sppoar tritoonf ot hf et hi re“ TUenrirt ei tdo r i a l Sfotar ttehseawndhiCteanmadasat,etro rbaecsee. t aside as a bastion ilante group that spread nationally and found fertile ground in Idaho. Spearheaded by Richard Butler and other outspoken white supremacists, the Posse began to attract hundreds of gun- totin’ members who were anxious to defend themselves from the ravages of big government. The authorities took note, but let things slide. After all, the Posse was pro-gun, anti-taxes and white as the driven snow. They fit right in. Richard Butler, a former aircraft engineer from California, became the leader of the nouveau racists. Butler had discovered the white supremacist movement in 1960 when he met Wesley Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, a rabidly racist group. Butler was Smith's protege, becoming the group's titular leader after Smith’s death in 1971. Butler moved the movement’s headquarters to Northern Idaho in 1973, buying land in the Hayden Lake area and adopting the name of Aryan Nations. Racists from all over the country began moving to the Idaho Panhandle, and before long there was a sizeable contingent of white supremacists operating out of the sylvan Northern Idaho countryside. Northern Idaho is part of what is called the Inland Empire: 32 counties in Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington and Western Montana with a combined population of just over one million. Ninety-five percent of the Inland Empire’s citizenry is white, with the majority of blacks living in Spokane County. Less than one percent are Jewish. Butler and his Aryan Nations brethren seized on these demographic facts as a fait accompli, claiming the region as part of their so-called “territorial imperative,’ which they designated as a large portion of the United States and Canada, to be set aside as a bastion for the white master race. The Aryan Nations’ doctrines of anti- Semitism and racial superiority seemed to fit the area. Hurling invectives works when the people you’re attacking aren’t around to respond. The local residents let the racist rhetoric go unchallenged... after all, the neo-Nazis were white and pro-gun, just like the overwhelming majority of the population. The problem was intensity, not ideology. The Aryan Nations, with about 60 true believers and a mailing list of more than 6,000, did more than just rant and print hate literature. They organized, constantly reaching out for more converts and seeking to build a broader base of support. Efforts were made to unite with local residents who opposed the legalization of gambling, an annual issue in re- venue-hungry Idaho. Neo-Nazis aligned with ratepayer groups determined to stop the incursions of the Washington Public Power Supply System and its legacy of nuclear power indebtedness. The neo-Nazi outreach intensified. Butler’s Aryan Nations bought ads in magazines like Shotgun News and Easyriders. A prison recruiting program was developed, and links were forged with the Aryan Brotherhood, a loose-knit white gang with thousands of members within the American and Canadian penal systems. Locally, attempts were made to attract like-minded cohorts from the ranks of the Inland Empire’s elected officials. Aryan Nations propaganda, hate mail and racist disinformation was mailed to local politicos. One announcement of a “shoot” was accompanied by a “Running Nigger" target, with a Spokane synagogue listed as the return address. Splinter groups emerged, some more militant than others. The most notorious offshoot is the Bruders Schweigen or Silent Brotherhood, also known as The Order. This faction was organized in 1983 by Robert J. Matthews and other dissatisfied neo-Nazi militants who wanted to escalate racial disharmony to a new level. Perhaps three dozen men and women joined The Order, vowing to die, if necessary, to further the cause of white supremacy through violence. Their program is based on the book The Turner Diaries, a fictional account of a futuristic race war that is instigated and won by a dedicated band of neo-Nazis also called The Order. First published in 1978, The Turner Diaries was ghost-written and copyrighted by William L. Pierce (also known as Luther Pierce), a former University of Oregon professor who was leader of the now-defunct National Alliance, a white supremacist cadre with international affiliations. The Turner Diaries is well-writteri, and provides a semi-plausible blueprint for the disruption of American society in preparation for a bloody coup by The Order. It’s a comprehensive primer for modern urban guerrilla warfare, focusing Clinton St. Quarterly 5
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