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During the past couple of months, racist and militia activists with Montana connections have been dealt setbacks by the criminal justice system. Some have been sentenced to prison, some have lost legal appeals, and others are just now being indicted.

In November 2001, members of the Montana Front Working Class Skinheads were convicted of violating federal hate crimes laws. The charges stemmed from the group's "Park Patrol" activities in Billings which sought to make the city's Pioneer Park a white's only area. The convicted skinheads had yelled racial slurs and death threat while physically threatening people of color and Jews in the park with chains, bats and other weapons.

Court proceedings revealed that some members of the group followed Christian Identity, a racist theology teaching that Jews are the literal children of Satan and people of color are subhuman "mud people." Some of the Montana Front had attended gatherings at Idaho's Aryan Nations, and authorities discovered much white supremacist literature during their investigation of the group, including tracts by Bob Mathews, David Lane and Alex Curtis. Mathews started The Order, an Aryan Nations' splinter group in the 1980s, which robbed armored cars and wanted to create an Aryan Homeland in the Pacific Northwest. Lane is serving 190 years in prison for his involvement with The Order's assassination of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. Meanwhile, Curtis is serving a jail sentence for threatening California public officials and vandalizing two Jewish synagogues.

Members of the Working Class Skinheads testified that the group was formed to prepare for a racial holy war. The leaders of the group had encouraged their fellow skinheads to embrace violence. For participating in "Park Patrol," the skinheads were rewarded with red suspenders and laces, a common status symbol among skinheads. Jason Potter was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Sean Allen and Eric Dixon received 12 years. Jeremiah Skidmore got eight years and four months, while Michael Flom received four years and three months. Ryan Flaherty received a little over three years. The skinheads appealed their convictions to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. They stated Pioneer Park was not a "public accommodation" under federal civil rights law, because it did not impact interstate commerce.

The Ninth Circuit upheld the skinheads' convictions. It ruled that "Park Patrol" was a "racially motivated hate crime" that violated the victims' federally-protected civil rights. Because of this, it didn't matter that the crimes occurred in a local park. The court also upheld the lengths of the prison sentences imposed.

The saga of Dave Burgert and the militia cell known as "Project 7" took another step towards resolution in September. A federal judge sentenced Burgert to seven years in prison on charges of possessing an illegal machine gun and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Dave Burgert has had many encounters with law enforcement in the Flathead area. While out on bail, he disappeared in early 2002. When police tracked him down, he threatened to kill himself with an illegal machine gun, before finally being taken into custody. The ensuing investigation uncovered Project 7, which allegedly was stockpiling firearms and ammunition and putting together intelligence on local criminal justice employees that officials reported to be a hit list. Project 7 is still being investigated.

During the trial, Deputy U.S. Attorney Kris McLean described Burgert as a "conniving, manipulative criminal" since leaving the military. Burgert's commanding officer in the Marines stated that Burgert had disciplinary problems and he was discharged only months after enlisting. Burgert's criminal history includes a felony conviction in Alabama, along with misdemeanors in Montana, such as DUI, obstructing officers, and resisting arrest.

Judge Donald Molloy's sentence includes three years of supervised release when Burgert gets out of jail. Burgert was told he will never again be allowed to possess a firearm, and he can't have any contact with militia activists.

Chris Temple, a neo-Nazi who used to live in the Flathead Valley, has been indicted in Wisconsin on 67 counts of federal mail fraud and money laundering. On each of the 67 charges, Temple faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines between $250,000 and $500,000.

Temple has been a fixture in the white supremacist and militia movements since the early 1990s. A self-proclaimed Nazi, Temple formed the United Citizens for Justice with John Trochmann, who later founded the Militia of Montana using the United Citizens for Justice's mailing list. In 1996, Temple was a featured speaker at the Aryan Nations' World Congress. He has worked for the Council of Conservative Citizens, which has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a national watchdog organization. Temple lived in the Flathead Valley until 1992 when he moved to Spooner, Wisconsin. While in Montana, he ran Phoenix Financial Services, which gave investment advice from a "patriot" perspective.

The indictment against Temple stated that, from July 1998 to March 2003, Temple obtained approximately $1.6 million from investors around the country based on "false and fraudulent representations." During that time period, Temple promoted his investment advice in publications like the National Investor and the anti-Semitic tabloid The Spotlight. The indictment states that Temple used the money from investors for his own personal use, including renovating his home in Wisconsin.