Extreme hate in Idaho: Part I of III (2024)

IDAHO, USA — Growing up in Meridian in the 90's, there was a slogan, "Idaho is too Great for Hate." It became a rallying cry for Idahoans who didn't want to see their home overtaken by extremist hate groups.

However, according to experts, the phrase wasn't only a plea to prevent Idaho from going in the wrong direction - it was intended to be aspirational, what Idahoans wanted for the Gem State.

What do the experts in 2024 say? Well, they don't say that hate is"back" in Idaho; but rather, it never left.

As the extremist group spread their racist, hom*ophobic, xenophobic, hateful ideology across the country for decades, here in Idaho, the dismantling of the compound appeared to be the end of the group's presence in the northwestern state.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, with Idaho's Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, bankrupted the Aryan Nations by winning a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against them. One of the leaders of that Task Force was Bill Wassmuth, the namesake of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. The mission remains the same as it was when it originated.

"How are we continuing to work across groups, across communities, across the state to really be louder in saying that 'That is not who Idaho is'?" said Wassmuth Center for Human Rights Executive Director Christina Bruce-Bennion.

But the difficult question we have to answer is: Is it not?

Numerous examples of violent extremism have been documented in recent years.

In March, two Idaho members of the Aryan Knights (a white supremacist prison gang) were arrested for a hospital shooting and prisoner escape.

In 2022, seven members of a white nationalist hate group were convicted of planning to riot at a Pride Parade in Coeur d'Alene, with 20 others pleading to lesser charges.

That same year, an Oregon man in Boise drove his car into people he believed were lesbians, burned pride flags and assaulted a transgender librarian.

In 2020, a group of men who recently moved to Boise were charged in a Neo-Nazi plot to destroy the power grid in Idaho. And while police don't believe the mass shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall in 2021 was hate-motivated, sources say Neo-Nazi literature was found in the trailer of Jacob Bergquist, who shot and killed a transgender security guard and a Mexican immigrant.

Doctor Royce Hutson, a professor at Boise State and a researcher of violent extremism in Idaho, as well as in the Middle East said hate hasn't returned to Idaho but has been here the whole time.

"It ebbs and flows with sort of the prevailing sort of political winds," Hutson said. "And so, it never went away."

So, if it's always been here, why does Hutson say it's on the rise again? U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Josh Hurwit says extremism is learned in two ways. First, from family and friends.

Josh Hurwit, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho said he believes extremist hate groups have just recently increased in popularity. "Probably because of the pandemic, it sort of self-radicalized individuals who go down rabbit holes online."

According to court records, that's exactly how the alleged leader of that Neo-Nazi group, Liam Collins, was radicalized before recruiting others on a North Carolina military base. Prosecutors said they started to create the plot to destroy the power grid, along with creating a hit list of progressive politicians and community leaders, and then moved to Boise.

"They exclude all the other information coming in, and only seek out and listen to and incorporate the information that reinforces their preconceived notions, oftentimes racist and xenophobic, etc...," Hutson added.

Hutson said that can happen on social media but also places that are hard to monitor, like certain messaging apps, video games or chat rooms. "So, the language is hyper violent, and there's nobody to tell them that this is obviously messed up."

From a legal standpoint, hate speech, as long as there is no threat of violence, is protected by the first amendment. However, Hurwit iterates that, although protected by the First Amendment, "it doesn't mean it's acceptable and that we should tolerate it."

Hutson said the end goal of extremism is always the same, and that is "violence." He said groups often talk about resetting the government through a revolution and compare themselves to the Founding Fathers.

"And they can claim that they're patriots as a result of that," Hutson said.

He also points out that extremists don't just pose a threat to minority groups, but the rest of the community as well. "Anyone that defends diversity and inclusion could be potentially targeted by these groups," he explains.

Hurwit continued stating that extreme hate also has the potential to break down the fabric of the entire community. "In terms of...are people fearful? Are they less trusting? Are they less willing to engage in what we need them to engage in from a civic perspective? Hate crimes really tear the fabric of our society in a sort of a unique way."

Tearing at that community spirit decades ago that inspired Idahoans who were not directly targeted by the Aryan Nations to destroy them.

"Many others in the community were kind of like, 'Ah, they're kind of having like a little club in the woods. Like, it's not like that big of a deal, right?' It took a while for people to come around to recognize, or to see that even if I'm not the target, for example, the fact that they're targeting anyone in my community is not acceptable," Bruce-Bennion said.

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