Cd'A releases statement condemning racism, violence
The Coeur d’Alene city council released a statement Tuesday night condemning acts of violence and hate, this following persisting criticism the city is not enforcing Idaho laws prohibiting militia activity.
“We condemn white supremacy and any groups who promote it,” councilman Christie Wood read aloud during Tuesday night’s council meeting. “Racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, employment and criminal justices. We have deep empathy to the nationwide anger and fear that racism instills if unchecked.”
The statement came on the heels of a two-week-long back-and-forth between city leaders and one of its citizens. Jonathan Jordan approached the council during the public comments portion of the Oct. 6 meeting to chastise the governing body for what he perceived as inaction by the city during the early June appearance of hundreds of gun-toting citizens. After condemning — and at one point even laughing at — Mayor Steve Widmyer and the city council, Jordan and council members exchanged emails and other communications over the past two weeks to discuss differing perspectives of the events that unfolded over the summer.
An estimated 300 to 400 heavily-armed men and women stood on the streets of downtown Coeur d’Alene during early June in a response to reports of rioters en route to Coeur d’Alene — this after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department sparked protests across the country. While some championed the show of force, others expressed concern and fear over the group’s actions. The city released a mostly-neutral letter of support on June 5 for all parties that week: the police, Black Lives Matters protesters and the armed resistance alike.
The still-unsubstantiated threat of rioters never materialized in June, but on Tuesday night, Jordan showed up.
“We all want peace in our communities,” he said to Widmyer and council at Tuesday night’s meeting as he read from an unpublished opinion piece he submitted in June to the Coeur d’Alene Press. “The answer is not parading around town with guns. I watched a small-business owner essentially thrown out of his own establishment by the same people who claimed to be here armed in protecting us. No one batted an eye against these thugs. The police officer he counted on for help said he fit the profile of the enemy.”
“I’m not mad about not having a voice,” Jordan told council. “I’m not the one who needed a voice. George Floyd and our entire country needed a voice, and my community got together to brag about their guns, and to threaten other members of my community. I’m not mad about you all calling me the enemy. I’ve been treated like a punk by everyone, it seems.”
Councilwoman Kiki Miller said Jordan’s opinion on the downtown display of force was not the only issue driving the city’s statement. A handful of intersecting issues converged Tuesday to prompt the statement, such as Evan Koch’s resolution he’s taking to cities across Idaho on behalf of Kootenai County Democrats to quell a recent rise in racist actions locally, including the planting of Confederate flags on yards promoting Democratic candidates, and a rise in white supremacist literature appearing in the area.
“Fighting racism is a non-partisan issue,” Widmyer said. “It’s everybody’s concern … We can pull this thing together. We can always do better, but we’re committed to fighting it. It’s an ongoing fight, but we’re committed to fighting it.”