Zwickau in the Rockies: Neo-Nazi "Paradise" in Montana

Germans were understandably shocked to learn that a neo-Nazi terror cell had been operating for years in the town of Zwickau, with support from right-wing extremist groups across Germany.  But this cell operated in secrecy.  In the United States we have an armed neo-Nazi group operating openly in Montana, and authorities are doing nothing to contain it.  The group is building a "whites only" region in the Rockies - and the community of hate is growing. 

The founder of the racially-pure community in Kalispell, Montana is the "Eva Braun" of the neo-Nazis in America, April Gaede: 

Best known for her twin daughters, Lynx and Lamb, who perform folk music at white supremacist festivals and elsewhere under the name Prussian Blue, April Gaede was suckled on neo-Nazi ideology. She grew up on a ranch near Fresno, Calif., where her father branded the family’s horse and cattle with swastikas.

In 1986, when she was 20, Gaede says she selected her first husband, Kris Lingelser, for his “Aryan” looks. The couple settled in Bakersfield, Calif., and, eight years later, Gaede gave birth to her blonde-haired, blue-eyed twins.

She has named her third daughter Dresden, in honor of the fire-bombed German city.  April Gaede runs a blog for Pioneer Little Europe group, which is dedicated to "creating racially conscious White communities."  A recent post celebrated all the "wonderful White babies being born in Kalispell, Montana."

Why are neo-Nazis flocking to Kalispell?  This is a remote area of the far West, with little or no law enforcement presence. Also, Montana and Idaho have long been white supremacist strongholds.  But the single biggest magnet for right-wing extremists are Montana's lax restrictions on gun ownership, and the neo-Nazi groups have amassed a huge arsenal of weapons - legally.   In 2009 one of the neo-Nazi leaders shot an unarmed Latino in a racially-motivated assault.  Open and shut hate crime, right?  Wrong: 

Earlier that year, however, the Montana legislature had passed the "Shoot to Kill Bill," which codified that Montana residents are legally allowed to use deadly force with a firearm if they are "legally in a place" and feel threatened, whether or not the person by whom they feel threatened is displaying a weapon. The law further declares that its up to prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a shooter's actions were not justified.

Although the young man that Goff shot was unarmed, the neo-Nazi's lawyer argued that his client was justified in using deadly force because he felt threatened. The jury acquitted him.

Word has gotten out about Kalispell, and Nazis from all over the United States are calling it home.  One white supremacist relocated from Florida and is gushing with enthusiasm:

"It's paradise here. I open carry [a handgun] every day. If you can, you should too."

Much more on this "Zwickau in the Rockies":

• Media Matters: High Country Extremism: Homeland on the Range
• Media Matters: Pioneering Hate
• Media Matters: Armed And Dangerous
• Media Matters: Patriot Games

Comments

[Strahler 70]

Racists feel threatened by non-white strangers and they are entitled to carry fire weapons; the shoot to kill bill is just the logical conclusion. The harmonic symbiosis of America's two great constitutional rights, freedom of speach and gun ownership. A+B=C, David, you can't escape your own algebra.

[Strahler 70]

Freedom of speech, I guess I'll never learn that...

[David]

I'll defend freedom of speech to the end. But our crazy embrace of guns is based on a false interpretation of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.

[Y]

Paradise? Lol. Here's proof,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcSIZg4wlgo

[Whistlingelk]

Perhaps all those Mad Dogs should congregate up there.... and eat their own tails... leave the rest of the country to decent human beings.... That Swastika also makes a good target for us sane folks who are gun rights advocates...