"once synonymous" - that's rich. Today's ID is rotten to the core with right-wing domestic terrorists.
The incident occurred in a part of the Pacific Northwest that was once synonymous with hate groups and has lately seen a rise in extremism even among its elected officials. Coeur D'Alene and northern Idaho became known as a haven for extremism and racist groups in the 1970s and '80s when the Aryan Nations relocated its headquarters there. Skinheads held parades in the 1990s. Activity declined following a lawsuit, but two summers ago 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were arrested there, with plans to disrupt a queer pride event.
"This is yet another example to those individuals who claim incorrectly that racism is no longer a problem. They are wrong," Tony Stewart with the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations said at the press conference, carried by KXLY television.
"We are witnessing a troubling growth of a very toxic environment in our country and locally, by individuals and organized extremist groups to advance many forms of hatred," Stewart said.
It's like the Mitch Hedberg joke, "I used to do drugs...I still do, but I used to, too."