The angry hangover from Ruby Ridge galvanized local militia groups. The line between Thomas Jefferson and Aryan leader Richard Butler became a ragged edge for some. The Spokesman-Review was able to get inside one group in North Idaho.
Para-military groups practiced tactics, such as taking over buildings, etc, in the North Idaho mountains.
Heavily armed, leaderless cells of white separatists were surfacing across the country. The newspaper tracked them from Kentucky to Las Vegas.
After the coordinated bombing of a Planned Parenthood Clinic, and subsequent robbery of a nearby bank, the bank and the newspaper offered a reward for the bombers. They responded by threatening the newspaper.
Days after threatening the newspaper, the racists threw a pipe bomb on the loading dock of a bureau of the newspaper. Two circulation workers escaped injury. Then the robbers hit the same bank again.
After the bombing of the newspaper’s bureau, the Federal Courthouse, directly across the street from the newspaper’s main offices, installed film on the windows to keep them from shattering in case of a bombing.
The newspaper provided a rallying point for the community through a series of community outreach efforts. Residents were urged to share their thoughts with other readers, or to attend a series of community events sponsored by the newspaper. These placards were distributed in the Sunday newspaper and available free all over town.
The Spokesman-Reveiw captured the community reactions with original reporting and contributions from readers, in a special section.
Richard Butler, leader of the Aryan Nations, was eventually convicted in federal court after some his followers shot at and threatened a mother and son who got too close to the Aryan compound. Well-known civil rights attorney Morris Dees won a $6.3 million dollar judgment that bankrupted Butler and brought the Aryans down.
