Earlier this year, Jewish Defense League Chairman Irv Rubin and I decided that we must go to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to attend a party sponsored by head Nazi, Pastor Richard Butler. We were to go in April, when the followers of Butler were to celebrate the birthday of Adolf Hitler. However, Butler, the so-called leader of the Aryan Nations, heard that the JDL planned to attend the party. Fantasizing that he would have more supporters during the summer to protect him against JDL, Butler rescheduled his Nazi/KKK march of bigotry until July 18.

Irv and I arrived on Wednesday morning, July 15. As we approached Spokane, (a short drive to Coeur d'Alene) we each looked at the panoramic view below us. It was clear that this was a truly beautiful area, honeycombed with deep blue lakes, and pine forests. The word "paradise" is appropriate to describe the Coeur d'Alene area.

We both landed at about eleven that morning, Irv flying in from Los Angeles, and I from Reno, Nevada. (See our photo below -- that's Irv on the right and me on the left.) When Irv disembarked, he was met by a crowd of photo, print, and electronic journalists, all vying for a few words from the "Jewish radical" (or so they thought) who they believed had arrived to disturb the peace and tranquility of Coeur d'Alene.

Irv was eager and more than willing to answer the reporters' questions. He advised them in general, that he was in Coeur d'Alene to attempt to convince Butler that the beautiful city of Coeur d'Alene did not deserve the perception that was prevalent across the country, and the world -- that of a haven for Nazis, members of the KKK, bigots of all description, and the seat of racial intolerance in the United States.

From the Spokane airport, we drove directly to Coeur d'Alene and a scheduled conference that we had requested with the Coeur d'Alene Chief of Police Dave Scates, as well as representatives of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. The meeting, although tense on the part of some of the members of law enforcement who were present, was polite, dignified, and cordial.

Chief Scates was a sincere and forthright individual who made it clear that it was his responsibility to keep the peace and to prevent the commission of any crime during the Aryan/KKK march. He knew that I was a career police officer and currently a sergeant with a police department in Nevada, a neighboring state. We were told that the parade route through the downtown would be barricaded with tape ("Police Line Do Not Cross"). We were informed that if anyone set foot onto the street in front of the barricades, they would be arrested. One of the representatives from the Sheriff's department interjected the fact that those arrested would not be cited and released, they would be taken directly to jail and booked!). The Sheriff's uniformed lieutenant also told us that we would not be able to park in front of the Aryan (Butler's) compound, because the highway would have "No Parking" signs posted. He did say, however, that if we wanted to walk in, the distance would be about a quarter of a mile.

The City of Coeur d'Alene had graciously provided the JDL contingent of protesters and those who would be joining us with a area, or vantage point, in a parking lot which was directly across the street from the staging area for the Aryan marchers and, where the marchers would pass as the parade was beginning. As they returned from their jack-booted march through the streets of beautiful downtown Coeur d'Alene, the nazis and klansmen would again be forced to pass the JDL lines and throngs of supporters who had joined us in the protest. We thanked the officers for the meeting and agreed to meet again prior to the march on July 18.

Irv had a hand-held megaphone, which he planned to make use of as the nazis passed our containment area. We had been told prior to our arrival that a megaphone/speaker permit would be required and that there would be no problem in obtaining one, just a formality, I was told. After the conclusion of the meeting, we went upstairs to the office of the City Clerk who would issue the permit. The permit was provided; however, it limited the noise level from the megaphone to 65db. (Anyone can shout louder than 65db.)

Irv and I were then driven to the compound of the evil empire, Richard Butler's twenty-acre headquarters of the "Church of Jesus Christ Christian," where his ethnic hatred is spawned. I photographed the entrance to the compound with it's prominent sign "Aryans Only" posted at the entrance. The buildings comprising his nazi campground cannot be seen from the highway, and we were told that armed guards are always on patrol to keep out "vermin and mud people." You could feel the evil which permeated the grounds of Butler. I could only describe it as akin to the entrance to a death camp.

We then drove back to Spokane, where Irv and I were joined by a photo journalist and a reporter from the daily Spokane newspaper (name of the paper omitted to protect the photographer who was kind enough to be our guide around the city, and the reporter who accompanied us who was extremely open minded and fair, and who according to the nazis, would have been considered a "mud person."

We all pounded the pavement, talking with people on the street and knocking on doors, advising all who were interested, about the racist parade and demonstration in neighboring Coeur d'Alene on the Saturday morning. The majority of those contacted were vehemently opposed to Butler and all he stands for, and many said that they would be joining us on Saturday.

We returned to the safe house, which had been provided for us in Coeur d'Alene, and Irv began to ponder a plan of action against Butler and his racists fanatics. Irv did not want the confrontation between the good and evil to take place in the city of Coeur d'Alene. Rather, Irv wanted to take the battle where it belonged, directly to Richard Butler's compound. It was Irv's fervent desire to stop the march from ever taking place, or much less, reaching Coeur d'Alene. We agreed that it was worth trying.

On the next morning, July 16, Irv was the guest on a local talk show for three hours, which began at 9 a.m. He was originally scheduled for only one hour, but due to the enormous response and support from the listeners (which included Spokane as well as Coeur d'Alene), his interview was extended for two additional hours. During those hours, Irv discussed and explained the enormous threat to Jew and Gentile alike by the grown menace of nazism, bigotry, and hatred fostered by Richard Butler and his associates, the KKK, racist militia groups and others like them whose numbers are swelling day by day. Unless we all recognize what is happening right here in Spokane and in Coeur d'Alene, and fight these hate mongers together, one day we will awaken and will only remember that one day, not too long ago, America was free.