Realizing that the neo-Nazis in their midst represented a threat both to safety and the region’s reputation turned citizens of Coeur d’Alene into activists.
“Our struggle against hate came to us through the Aryan Nations,” Tony Stewart, a North Idaho College political science professor and one of the generals in the battle told participants in the July UI Extension diversity tour.

The true measure of success came in 2001 when the legal system triumphed, ejecting the Rev. Richard Butler of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian and his Aryan Nations from his compound to satisfy a $6.3 million jury award to a mother and son assaulted by the group’s guards.

Butler died in September 2004 after writing his own political epitaph by running for mayor of Hayden the previous fall, drawing 50 votes—2 percent of 2,122 votes cast.

The mirage of the group’s tacit approval in the region vanished with the sale of the compound and the later destruction of its buildings to make way for a peace park.

Kootenai County’s human rights legacy
Now the property of the North Idaho College Foundation—a tribute in part to Stewart’s leadership—the 20-acre parcel adjoins Hayden Lake.

Philanthropist Gregory Carr donated $1 million to the Coeur d’Alene Human Rights Education Foundation for a human rights center and an 11-foot granite monument featuring the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for display in Coeur d’Alene. (See www.un.org/Overview/rights.html.)

The University of Idaho also partnered with Carr to launch a series of forums to honor Bill Wassmuth, the late leader of the Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity, who relied heavily on fellow leaders Stewart and Coeur d’Alene attorney Norm Gissel.

At the July presentation, Stewart and Gissel reflected on the growth of community awareness and success of efforts to counteract the Nazi message. In February the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations will celebrate its 25th anniversary and a legacy that includes a network of human rights organizations statewide and hate-crime laws among the strongest in the nation.

The true nature of evil the task force overcame became apparent to Stewart when he visited the compound before it was razed. “When we took over the compound, we found a room that was a shrine to Adolph Hitler,” Stewart recalled. He displayed some of the photos and artifacts glorifying Hitler that may someday become part of a more permanent exhibit detailing the vanquished threat.

For attorney Gissel, the nature of the threat was painfully clear, even without the photos. “The mentality of the Nazis came from the same source as al-Qaida. It relied on terroristic threats, and we had to put up with these monsters for 30 years.

“When someone wants to kill you, not only that, but has the DUTY to kill you, you want to know what makes them tick,” Gissel said. The Hitler shrine provided the final evidence of the Aryan’s hatred.