Richard Butler

Aryan Nations security guards pursued Victoria and Jason Keenan after their car backfired near the compound, fired at their vehicle and then assaulted them. In 2000, a jury held Butler and his organisation liable for negligent or reckless selection and supervision of the guards and awarded the victims $6.3 million. The judgment led to bankruptcy and the loss of the compound.

Attribution

Directly implicated

In 1998, Butler was found guilty of obstructing a deputy sheriff during a confrontation in which pepper spray was used outside the Aryan Nations compound.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

Butler transformed his Hayden Lake compound into a national and international centre for white supremacy, hosting Aryan Nations conferences, promoting a white homeland in the North-West and, in 1989, marking Hitler's centenary in an effort to attract younger skinheads.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

A federal grand jury indicted Butler and other supremacist leaders over an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government by force. After a trial lasting several weeks at Fort Smith, all remaining defendants were acquitted.

Attribution

Accused

Several future members of The Order met or had been active at Butler's compound. Testimony established that Aryan Nations printing presses were used in early counterfeiting operations and that some of the money stolen in The Order's robberies was paid to Butler's organisation.

Butler and several members of his organisation were convicted following a confrontation at a Boise motel that had cancelled an Aryan Nations meeting. Contemporary reports indicate a conviction for trespass and mention concealed weapons in the context of the case.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Butler and a Posse Comitatus member were prosecuted following an allegation that they had threatened a man with a pistol.

Legal status — source text

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Shortly after moving to northern Idaho, Butler and members of his Christian Posse Comitatus attempted a purported citizen's arrest of a police officer at the Kootenai County courthouse, shortly before the officer was due to testify against a group associate.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated