Small Group Gathers at Libby Weigh Station for Anti-Government Rally
When organizers announced a "War on the West" rally for April 15 in Libby, they expected 3,000 people from across the country gathering to protest President Clinton's environmental policies. The organizers, including Rep. Scott Orr (R--Libby), said the rally was to stop "the global invasion of our rural communities." They planned to burn the United Nations flag and IRS tax forms. The reality was much less spectacular. Only 40 people showed up and burned a UN flag at a weigh station between Libby and Troy on Highway 2. The original organizers didn't even attend. The rally's transformation illustrates what can happen when mainstream folks irresponsibly appeal to the themes and rhetoric of hate groups and anti-government extremists. This rally provides a case study of what can happen when political figures use the themes of the far right for organizing.
Orr's "War on the West" Appeals to Anti-Government Groups
Led by Scott Orr and Terry Andreesen, six men planned the original April 15th rally. According to Orr, the men wanted to take a stand against "a federal government that dictates every policy decision made in the states." Orr said the crowd would lower the "u.S. (small u to indicate that we are a federation of 50 States, joined together in one united States) flag to playing of taps." The term "u.S." is typical freemen rhetoric arguing the United States is a republic of sovereign states, and the government has no authority over individuals.
The original flyer advertizing the event was highly inflammatory, calling not only for flag-burning, but "forceful civil disobedience," and an end to cooperation in land use policy debates. It urged Libby residents to "Show Up or Shut Up." The contact information provided on the flyer were phone numbers for Terry Andreesen's and Scott Orr's businesses in Libby.
The racist right and wise use movements pounced on the rally's anti-government and anti-globalist rhetoric. Notices of the upcoming rally were sent to anti-government lists including the Militia of Montana and a list put together by the United States Theatre Command, a militia group based in Michigan. Also on March 13, Tom Farrenkopf, president of the Missoula-based Citizens to Preserve the Second Amendment (CPSA), promoted the rally. He said people could "send small un [sic] flags or photocopies of the un flag and/or IRS forms to us here and we will take them up to Libby to burn." CPSA's newsletter frequently carries articles about one-world-government conspiracy theory, and the group has had John Trochmann speak at its meetings at least three times in the past five years.
The rally was also announced in The Spotlight, an anti-Semitic tabloid read by many racist right activists. The Spotlight regularly runs articles about Jews trying to take over the world through organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. It is published by Willis Carto's Liberty Lobby. Carto also founded the Institute for Historical Review, a major proponent of Holocaust denial.
MHRN Confirms Right-Wing Groups Will Attend the Rally
The Network confirmed that members of several racist groups were planning on attending the April 15th rally. These included: the Militia of Montana (MOM), the Aryan Nations, and the World Church of the Creator. The Aryan Nations said it believed the rally was being sponsored by MOM.
The Network also confirmed that activists from numerous other right-wing groups were planning to show up. Members of one of the largest wise use groups in the state, Montanans for Multiple Use (MFMU), supported the event. The group's website contained an article about the rally, and MFMU put out a message by Scott Orr outlining the rally's purposes. MFMU sponsored a send-off rally for Jim Hurst's Shovels of Solidarity in January which were delivered to the militia-supported Jarbidge Rebels to help rebuild a closed Forest Service road.
Two representatives of the Constitution Party of Montana planned to attend÷ Chairman Michael Heit and Rep. Rick Jore. The group advertised the rally on its website. The Constitution Party supports many ideas consistent with militia and freemen ideology.
The city of Libby became alarmed about the ensuing "invasion," and community leaders began pressuring the organizers to cancel the rally. At one point, local government officials told organizers they would be held responsible for any damage done at the rally, including monetary damage to businesses.
On March 31, the organizers officially canceled the rally, siting public safety. However, the inflammatory language of the original flyer would not die. By canceling the rally, the organizers ensured, ironically, that moderate conservatives would stay home, leaving only the most aggressive, hard-core, right-wing activists.
Hard-Core Activists Keep Rally Alive
On April 11, white supremacist, Richard Masker, sent a notice urging "white patriots" to spread the word that the rally may be "canceled (officially) but, unofficially the rally is set for GO." Masker has close connections to Aryan Nations and lived at the Hayden Lake compound for a while.
Two men from Idaho, Tom Stetson and Jack Gurganus, visited Lincoln County Sheriff Daryl Anderson. They told him they represented a group called Americans for a Constitutional Government and were going to rally in Libby with or without an official invitation.
Stetson has a long history of activity in the militia movement. He spoke at a meeting convened by Christian Identity Pastor Pete Peters in 1992 at Estes Park, Colorado, believed to be the birthplace for the militia movement. Stetson has been involved with many militia-type groups, including the Unorganized Militia of Idaho. His current group, Americans for a Constitutional Government, advertises its meeting on MOM's website.
The improvised rally of April 15th drew about 40 anti-government activists. It took place 15 miles outside of Libby at a weigh station. Stetson and Gurganus showed up and spoke to the crowd about the evils of globalization and the media. People walked around with signs, and a United Nations flag was burned. The original organizers did not attend, and the crowd began breaking up after about an hour of activity.
The Communist Connection÷ A Disinformation Campaign
At a city council meeting the weekend after the rally, the original organizers complained that the city unfairly pressured them to cancel the rally. They claimed the council had been influenced by communist groups. Many of the complaints centered around a newsletter mailed to residents by a group claiming to be the Communist Committee for Environmental Preservation (CCEP). The group is clearly a hoax, but the rally organizers claimed otherwise. The newsletter fabricates an award supposedly presented to MHRN Program Director Ken Toole, Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance board chair John Schneeberger, and forester Gloria Flora for their work in advancing environmental policy.
The rally supporters at the council meeting jumped on the Network's "connection" to this non-existent group. D.C. Orr told the council, "The Montana Human Rights Network is a front organization for communism in Montana," and CCEP is affiliated with the Network. Orr said, "This is a real dangerous outfit. They've been clandestine and subversive and we brought them out of the woodwork."
The original organizers insisted they had broad support in the community and the city's government unfairly shut them down. "We had public support," D.C. Orr said. "We just had vocal opposition from a few." Mayor Tony Berget disagreed, saying, "I think you'll find your vocal opposition was from a lot more than you thought."