From: dyurman@igc.apc.org (Dan Yurman)
Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy
Subject: Report on Gritz from Idaho
Date: 24 Jan 93 06:01:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1299600161:000:8441
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!dyurman    Jan 23 22:01:00 1993


There have been numerous postings on the net about the Populist
Party, James "Bo" Gritz, and their neo-Nazi connections.  Some
people don't believe Gritiz is real or that his affiliations make
sense.  Since I live in Eastern Idaho I thought I'd present some
facts for readers on this subject.
 
There is a growing visibility in the 10 county area surrounding
Idaho Falls, ID, for the political campaigns of James "Bo" Gritz
in Eastern Idaho.  Evidence of this is shown by numerous roadside
signs and flyers delivered door-to-door.  Gritz is a neo-Nazi
hiding behind an ultra conservative campaign platform promoted by
the Populist Party.  Also, he previously campaigned with
Louisiana's David Duke.  Gritz is a former US Army Green Beret Lt.
Colonel, now about age 50.
 
In addition to his previous association with Duke, Gritz has
attracted some strange supporters who include "new age" believers
deeply into alien / UFO conspiracy theories.  They think the US
government has a secret military base in New Mexico which is the
site of visits from hostile aliens from another planet.  I am not
making any of this up.
 
More than a Nut Case
 
Gritz is regarded by some in the local political establishment as
a nut case, but his supporters are noisy.  In July 1992 about a
dozen Gritz supporters showed up at and disrupted a outdoor
charity event for the local greenbelt in Idaho Falls soliciting
donations for Gritiz's presidential campaign.  Also, they have
the funds to rent the civic auditorium, which seats 900, four-six
times a year for programs.
 
A lot of people don't know who he is, and assume he is just one
of many fringe candidates running on a soapbox for president.
However, Eastern Idaho as a rural, agricultural community is very
conservative, and there are places where Gritz finds fertile
ground.  Readers are a referred to the Washington Post for
10/27/92, Pg. C1, which contains a first-hand report by reporter
Paul Hendrickson on the extent of the activities of the Arayan
Nation in Idaho.
 
Opposition to Gritz
 
Opposition to Gritz includes a August 1992 editorial which
appeared in the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News.  It was reprinted
by the Idaho Falls Post-Register.  The editorial is significant
because it identifies the code words used by Gritz and his
supporters for their anti-semitic views.  These code words are
attacks on the "new world order" and on the "power" of the
Federal Reserve System.
 
Gritz and the Weaver Siege
 
Events taking place in the "Panhandle" region of Idaho near the
Canadian Border in September 1992 had echoes in the pages of the
local newspaper -- the Idaho Falls Post Register.  Hayden Lake is
the home of the Arayan Nation.  One neo-Nazi living in the rugged
area of nearby Naples was wanted as a fugitive on gun charges by
Federal Marshals who surrounded his home.  In the ensuing gun
fire, a Federal Marshal, Randy Weaver's wife, and Weaver's
13-year old son were killed.  Three others were wounded.  Bo
Grtiz was instrumental in convincing Weaver to give up his
weapons.  The siege and arrest of Randy Weaver in Naples, Idaho,
was the subject of enormous media coverage.
 
Newspaper Editorials: Pro & Con
 
Yet, Post Register reporter Stuart Engler wrote that Bo Gritz,
"picked up political mileage out of the national exposure he
received in convincing fugitive Randy Weaver to put down his
weapons."  However, when Gritz return to meet with a group a
Weaver supporters he gave them a Nazi salute.  This event was
photographed by a reporter from a Seattle, WA, TV station.  This
single act, more than any other, galvanized the Post Register to
write an a flaming editorial that, "no presiential candiate, from
any party, has any business giving a Nazi salute to anyone for
any reason."
 
An extraordinary guest editorial 9/13/92, by Chip Berlet, of
Political Research Associates, Boston, MA, thoroughly documented
Gritz's ties through his Christian Identity Movement to neo-Nazi
political figures.  This was an answer to criticism of the
newspaper by members of the Mormon Church that attacks on Gritz
were attacks on Mormonism.  More on this in a moment.  The
Christian Identity Movement specifically attacks Jews as "agents
of satan," and accuses them of controlling the Federal Reserve
Board to the detriment of white America.
 
Another guest editorial in the Post Register in early September
by an Ammon, Idaho, Weaver supporter, Paul Bunnell, appeared in
the Post Register on 9/3/92.  It contained an unusual amount of
first-hand details about Weaver's standoff against Federal
Marshals.  It suggests the writer is linked to a support group
for the Weaver's located near Naples, Idaho.  Ammon is a small
town adjacent to Idaho Falls.  This is the first evidence of
neo-Nazi supporters going public in print in the Idaho Falls
area.  Ammon and Naples are at opposite ends of the state more
than 600 miles apart.
 
Mormon Church Answers Gritz
 
Gritz claimed that his "Christian Identity Movement" is not a
Nazi front but really a branch of the Mormon Church.  His
supporters flooded the Post Register with angry accusations that
attacks on Gritz were forms of religious intolerance against the
Mormon Church.
 
However, in December 1992 Mormon Church leaders in Salt Lake
City, UT, warned their members that adhering to Gritz's teachings
about impending government collapse and the Second Coming are out
of line with Church teachings.  Articles appearing in the Salt
Lake City Tribune and the Idaho Falls Post Register on 12/1/92
report that Church leaders are counseling their members to avoid
"way out standards and practices."  Willis Yost, the Church's
regional representative in Idaho Falls, ID, said, "Members ...
have been cautioned to avoid crusaders and those that promote
kooky things."
 
Gritz issued a statement to the Idaho Falls Post Register saying
he has "been warned to be careful" what he teaches or face Church
discipline.  Gritz says he joined the Mormon Church in 1984, and
has attended services in Sandy Valley, NV, about 50 miles south
of Las Vegas.
 
Readers not familar with the Mormon Church should understand that
it is very influential in Idaho Falls and the surrounding 10
county area.  More than 50% of the population subscribe to the
Mormon faith.  Relations between Mormons and Jews in Eastern
Idaho are quiet and uneventful.
 
Gritz's Political Future?
 
In related news Gritz said he is considering moving permanently
to Idaho, perhaps St. Anthony, about 30 miles north of Idaho
Falls, in order to run for Governor.  In the presidential race in
Idaho Gritz got 10,300 votes in Idaho and over 28,000 votes in
Utah.  Nearly 40% of the votes received by Gritz in Idaho were
cast in the 10 county region surrounding Idaho Falls.  By
comparison, in the same 10 county region over 80,000 people voted
in the Congressional election.  In the Presidential race it was
Bush first, Perot second, and Clinton third.
 
Church & State in Eastern Idaho
 
Religious controversy in the region has centered on prayer in the
school suits brought by the ALCU out of Boise.  Also, the ACLU
has sued the Bannock County [Pocatello] Commissioners for having
a stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments in front of
the county building on the basis of the principle of separation
of church and state.  The Jewish Community of Eastern Idaho is
not a party to these suits, and has made no public statements
about them.  The only political figure who has sought to exploit
these tensions is U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID).  The response
to his interference was a statement by the Madison County Board
of Education which in effect told him to get lost.
 
Summary
 
While Gritz has not yet shown the political strength to win
statewide office, his supporters are noisy and visible in this
area.  Their program preys upon the fears of people with
fundamentalist views who feel threatened by big government and
economic forces beyond their control.  Facts printed in newspaper
articles about Gritz's connections to neo-Nazi movements do not
persuade his supporters.  Gritz's attempts to hide behind the
Mormon Church and gain legitimacy from it have been rejected by
its leadership.
 
Postscript
 
I will post further reports as events warrant.
 
-------------------------------------------------------
Dan Yurman            | dyurman@igc.apc.org | Honor
PO Box 1569           | MCI Mail: 364-1277  | Before
Idaho Falls, ID 83403 | 43N28 112W02 -7 GMT | Elegance
 
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