20 years ago: Hate left homeless in North Idaho

A few months ago, Norm Gissel stopped at a Coeur d’Alene bar and a man bought him a drink.

He had never met this person, but the man said he wanted to thank Gissel for being on the legal team that won the trial in 2000 that broke the Aryan Nations and kicked them out of North Idaho.

“That was 20 years ago,” Gissel said.

“I haven’t had a chance to buy you a drink yet,” the man responded.

Gissel accepted.

“I’m glad we did it,” he said.

Gissel was one of two local attorneys, along with Ken Howard, who worked on the case against Richard Butler and the Aryan Nations. He said he had a modest role in a trial that he believes changed the character of the Inland Northwest.

Before and during the trial, there was a view of North Idaho and in particular Kootenai County as a haven for Nazis, Gissel said.

“We certainly over time changed the perception of how we are viewed, nationally and internationally,” he said Friday in a phone interview with The Press.

He said winning the case was not a sure thing.

Lawsuits against hate groups were unique then and there was no way to know how the jury would perceive things.

But he said the legal team correctly assessed the mood of Kootenai County at the time, that residents were no longer going to tolerate white supremacists in their community.

“That was critical. If you misunderstand your community in a case like that, the outcome would have been unimaginable,” he said.

If they had lost the case, he said, it would have changed North Idaho as it is known today.

It would have been an open invitation for Nazis across the country to move to the Northwest. They might even still be around.

“This was a vital and living political movement and gaining momentum in the Northwest,” he said.

Getting more Nazis to come to North Idaho, and stay, was what Butler was trying to achieve, Gissel said.

“This case ended their dreams of doing that,” he said.

“The whole world breathed a sigh of relief when that case was won,” he added.

In North Idaho, and the Northwest, people were proud of the outcome that sent a clear message that the region would not tolerate hate.

“Everybody in Kootenai County felt a little better after that trial,” he said. “They understood the cultural impact of it.”

Gissel, retired today, lives on Fernan Hill. He said the case was the biggest of his career, “as far as notoriety of it and how famous that case became.”

For years afterward, people recognized him and still do today.

“Aren’t you Norm Gissel? Thank you very much for the results of that trial,” he has often been told.

“It was amazing,” he said.

Gissel still gives talks about the case.

“It taught everybody what a generous and wonderful community this is,” he said.

Philanthropist Greg Carr said people fought for human rights and against the Aryan Nations long before he purchased the 20-acre site.

“I was a latecomer to the party,” he said Friday.

He said he was pleased to buy the compound once used to promote racism, destroy it, “and create something beautiful in its place.”

Carr, a third-generation Idahoan, said the message from the Gem State was clear in driving out the Aryan Nations:

“We won’t tolerate hate,” he said. “Idahoans are better than that.”

He recalled that shortly after taking over the compound, a banquet was held on the site and 600 people attended. Out at the front entrance, six people with signs protested.

“Six hundred to six,” Carr said. “A lot more good Idahoans than Idahoans who believe in bigotry and hate. That was a nice moment.”

Carr said he and the others knew then their work was only beginning.

“We were starting a new chapter to provide dignity for everybody, human rights for everybody,” he said.

In looking at the recent racial unrest in the country, “It reminds all of us, this work is not done,” Carr said.

His hope is to “create a society where we listen to each other,” and that people learn to respect others, even if they look different, speak different and have different political views.

It can be done, Carr said.

“Think of it this way,” he said. “The property that used to be a headquarters for the Aryan Nations, the money from that property now funds human rights education. That’s a nice flip.”

Tom Cronin had just come on board as Coeur d’Alene police chief shortly before the trial began.

He said the case could have gone sideways, but there was great cooperation between the law agencies at the time.

The Idaho State Police was led by Capt. Wayne Longo, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office was led by Sheriff Rocky Watson, the Post Falls Police Department was led by Cliff Hayes.

“There were a lot of places this wouldn’t have gone well,” he said.

He said they had an informant within the Aryan Nations who kept them appraised of their plans.

“We had the advantage,” Cronin said.

Then, he said, North Idaho had the image as a place where white supremacists were accepted with open arms. Even 20 years later, Cronin hears from people who still think North Idaho is home to the Aryan Nations and others like them.

The outcome of the trial, though, took away their home.

The 20-acre compound Butler owned back then attracted followers, as they had a place to live, eat and as Cronin said, parade around in their Nazi uniforms.

After the trial, Richard Butler ended up a recluse, Cronin said.

“Once he lost that compound, they never came back,” he said.

Steve Judy, who was then Coeur d'Alene's mayor, said this after the trial: "I'm glad that we got this victory. People need to know that this is a beautiful place that welcomes everyone. That's the message that needs to be out there."

Done.