The Spokesman-Review reports:
— “Racists Go Calling In Oregon Town”
The Spokesman-Review reports:
— “Oregon town rallies against Aryans seeking to move there”
— “An Aryan Nations member from Athol visited John Day, Ore., last week, making clear his plan to set up a headquarters compound in that rural town.”
— “‘They just came by the office and said, ‘We’re here in town and we just want to let you know what’s going on,’ ‘ said Scotta Callister, editor of the Blue Mountain Eagle, a weekly newspaper in John Day.”
— “Paul Mullet of Athol was joined by two Grant County, Ore., residents – Jacob Green and Christopher Cowan – and Leif Berlin, supposedly the Aryan Nations’ Washington state leader, a story on the Eagle Web site said. Mullet did not respond to numerous calls requesting comment.”
— “In response to the news, dozens of Grant County residents demonstrated Saturday and now are seeking assistance from the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. Two of the task force’s founders, Tony Stewart and Norman Gissel, plan to speak at community meetings in John Day on Friday.”
— “‘The community is urged to attend and learn more about the white supremacy movement, its tactics, goals and strategies,” said a notice posted on the newspaper Web site. “We’ll also talk about ways to meet this threat to our values – proactively, legally and safely.'”
— “On Saturday, 70 or 80 residents demonstrated, carrying signs that said: ‘God can love everyone. Why can’t you?’ ‘No room 4 hate” and “Not 1 inch of our town,” according to a video posted on the Eagle Web site.”
— “‘They’re destructive, they’re deceitful. They claim to be Christians; they’re not Christians. And we’ve got to take a stand,” said resident Jim Spell, in the newspaper’s video. “We can’t just sit and hope they go away. We’ve got to be visible. That’s why we’re here.'”
— “Callister said the men visited the newspaper offices on Feb. 17, the same day her weekly newspaper publishes, so the first few stories on the topic appeared online.”
— “‘The outpouring we’ve seen from just online coverage has been intense,’ Callister said, explaining that two groups immediately formed on the social networking site Facebook opposing the Aryan Nations in Grant County. The first group had 1,000 fans within the first couple of days and the other had 600, she said.”
— “John Day’s population is 1,850, according to the city’s Web site.”
— “Callister said Mullet and the other men walked around town for two days, looking at property. They indicated their plan to establish a compound in Grant County and make it the organization’s headquarters. One of the newspaper’s stories said other guests at the hotel the men were staying at left early due to their presence.”
— “The Aryan Nations, once based near Hayden Lake, was put out of business after followers of founder Richard Butler chased and shot at two people whose vehicle had stopped in front of the group’s compound in 1998. A Coeur d’Alene jury in 2000 awarded $6.3 million in damages. Butler subsequently declared bankruptcy. His assets were liquidated and the compound leveled.”
— “Since Butler died in 2004, a number of people have tried to revive the Aryan Nations, but the efforts typically fall apart because of internal bickering.”
OPB reports:
— “The leader of the Idaho group Aryan Nations says he is still interested in moving to John Day, even though the town is in an uproar over his recent visit. Amelia Templeton reports.”
— “Idaho Aryan Nations leader Paul Mullet has not been able to buy property in John Day.”
— ” A school house he was interested in is not for sale and a real estate agency declined his e-mail offer on another building. Mullet told the local paper he wants to establish a headquarters in John Day.”
— “That touched a nerve, says the town’s mayor, Bob Quinton.”
— “Quinton: ‘He said he felt they had the same values as Grant County. That’s left a few of us scratching our heads trying to figure out where those values match up.'”
— “Quinton says all kinds of people protested Paul Mullet’s plans.”
— “Two Grant county residents who were with Mullet during his visit to John Day have resigned from Aryan Nations. One wrote that he received threats from community members.”
The Daily Astorian and Blue Mountain Eagle report:
— “White supremacist group eyes property in John Day”
— “Idaho man says he wants to create a compound and hold a national gathering in 2011”
— “JOHN DAY – Leaders of the Aryan Nations in Idaho say they want to move the headquarters of their white supremacist movement to Grant County.”
— “Paul R. Mullet, who called himself national director of the movement, was in John Day this week, looking at property to buy for a new ‘national compound.'”
— “The visit stirred concern in many quarters, where residents worried about the neo-Nazi sentiments of the movement and the negative impact that it could have on the community.”
— “The group teaches that the white race is the only one descended from Adam, and that Jews and non-whites are the natural enemies of white people. The mission, outlined on the group’s website, is to create a state for the ‘Aryan race,’ separate from all non-whites, and a ‘lawful Congress of our race.'”
— “Mullet, wearing a uniform shirt with a swastika patch on it, said the group’s goal is to create a homeland for white people.”
