Is Idaho Too Great For Hate?

Idaho has a complicated history with hate. In the 1990’s North Idaho was the headquarters for Aryan Nations head Richard Butler. His devoted followers remained in Idaho long after his compound was bulldozed. Shortly before his death, Butler emphasized that while they may have taken him down, the seeds of hate he planted would live long after him. Sadly, he was right.

First, a little Idaho history refresher. In the early 2000s, a North Idaho preacher started a church called the “Ark” not long after the Aryan Nations compound was destroyed. Butler’s followers needed a new place to worship and the Ark rose as the new face of hate in Idaho, carefully rebranded as “Christian Identity”. Rooted in the supremacist doctrine of “Dominionism”, this church attracted Barry and Anne Byrd to join their congregation. After a spat and a failed attempted to take over, the Byrds left the Ark and started their own group called the Marble Christian Community. They found a clever way to blend their hate by …