The case that bankrupted the Aryan Nations nearly 25 years ago wasn’t just about racism. It wasn’t just about taking down a white supremacist group.
It was a battle of good versus evil, and good won.
“This was a major turning point in culture,” Norm Gissel told about 60 people during a Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations luncheon at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn on Thursday.
It was in 1998 when an Idaho First Judicial District jury awarded $6.3 million to Victoria Keenan and her son, Jason Keenan, against the Aryan Nations and their security guards that bankrupted the neo-Nazi group.
Gissel was part of the legal team that achieved that victory.
Cornell Clayton, a Rhodes Scholar and Washington State University political science professor, shared his views on extremism in a historical perspective. He said division in government has long been part of America.