Neo-Nazis linked to sign over I-90

The Post Falls Police Department is investigating after someone placed racially charged signage on an overpass over Interstate 90 that a local human rights group has traced to neo-Nazis.

Post Falls PD was on the scene Wednesday morning near the Idaho-Washington state line, removing a professionally printed sign hanging from the bridge over the westbound lanes that read, “NO WHITE GUILT!”

Capt. Greg McLean said that as the matter is under investigation, he would not comment on the motivation behind the signage, but he did say hanging a sign along a bridge without permission is against the law. Idaho Code 18-7029 makes hanging signage without permission a misdemeanor.

For those passing by who saw both the sign and a heavy police presence near the on- and off-ramps, Idaho State Police were also in the area investigating a different matter at the same time. Capt. John Kempf of ISP said state troopers were alerted to a stolen vehicle nearby and happened to be in the same general area.

Jeanette Laster, executive director of the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene, said the language behind the sign can be traced to a San Antonio-based individual known as “The Hammer,” someone Laster said pushes a neo-Nazi movement.

“The Hammer” uses the networking app Telegram, which has become a popular online forum to replace 8chan, the infamous message board linked to the alleged shooters behind three racially-motivated mass shootings. Laster said people can buy the “NO WHITE GUILT!” signs for $30 and hang them at the buyer’s discretion, making the Post Falls incident part of a nationwide campaign.

“We want to emphasize: These are bad people,” Laster said. “These are not people sticking up for white individuals like they claim to. This is a campaign sponsored by neo-Nazis promoting a far greater white supremacy movement that has no place here in North Idaho.”

Laster added that HREI’s position on white guilt — a subject sparking new conversations this year in the wake of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests — is one of compassion, rather than division.

“There’s a difference between feeling guilty, and opening your heart, listening and understanding,” she said. “Society often associates guilt with a crime or a sin. But in actuality, it is not a feeling of guilt. It's a feeling of sadness, anger or remorse. We need to understand the difference in these feelings in order to support problem-solving."