Aryan Nations Leader Bankrupt
C O E U R D ‘ A L E N E, Idaho, Oct. 31, 2000 -- These are tough times for AryanNation leader Richard Butler.
He was vilified on the streets of Coeur D’Alene over the weekendand denied use of a hotel for a news conference. Two days later, hedeclared bankruptcy in the midst of a $6.3 million lawsuit broughtby two people who were attacked by guards outside his compound.
The bankruptcy filing Monday came as Butler, 82, prepares torelinquish control of his 20-acre compound this week to satisfypart of the civil rights lawsuit.
Justice Is Delayed
Since Butler doesn’t have $5.8 million — his share of thelawsuit — he declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means his assetsare to be liquidated to pay his debts, said Norm Gissel, theattorney who represented Victoria and Jason Keenan.
The compound was scheduled to be turned over to the Keenans thisweek, but Gissel said that will likely not happen because of thefiling.
“It means justice is delayed, but not denied,” Gissel said.
The Keenans were chased and shot at by Aryan Nations securityguards near the group’s compound in 1998. Jurors Sept. 7 ruled thatButler and his organization were negligent in selecting andoverseeing the guards, who assaulted the Keenans after they hadstopped to search for a dropped wallet near the compound’sentrance.
Swept Out of Town
The bankruptcy filing also came on the heels of Saturday’s AryanNations parade through downtown Coeur d’Alene. The parade drewabout two dozen marchers, who were shouted down by hundreds ofprotesters in what may have been the last hurrah of the AryanNations.
Directly behind the marchers were two street-sweeping truckssent by city officials.
“It was a symbolic move,” Police Chief Tom Cronin said. “Weswept them out of town.”
After the parade, Butler tried to hold a news conference at aroom he had rented in the Coeur d’Alene Inn. But hotel security andpolice officers blocked the door to the hotel.
It was another bitter pill for the Aryan Nations to swallow.Once ignored, if not exactly tolerated, the Aryan Nations in recentyears has faced rising opposition in Idaho. Attacked bypoliticians, business and religious leaders, Butler and hisfollowers have found themselves ever more isolated.
Dark, Cold and Vandalized
Butler held a final news conference Saturday at the compoundthat has been the group’s headquarters since the 1970s. He hasalready moved out, so there was no electricity. It was dark andcold in the church.
A stained-glass window behind the pulpit, which showed the AryanNations’ shield and swastika symbol, had been shattered by avandal’s rock.
Butler railed from his pulpit against the trial that cost himhis home.
“A lot of people know it was a railroad job,” Butler said.“You know it and I know it.”
“They were able to steal a man’s property,” Butler said.
Besides the property, the Keenans won rights to the name AryanNations, which for three decades has been synonymous with whitesupremacy and anti-Semitism. The name is to be retired, althoughButler has vowed to start a new organization called the AryanNational Alliance. He is living in a home in Hayden, about 15 milessouth of the compound, purchased by a wealthy supporter.
“Sure it’s hard to go, but yet I’m still proud of the fact I’vebeen able to stand in the face of adversity,” Butler said.