Byline: Louis Rolfes; 2000-10-30; News Media and The Law; pages 11
Tags: FBI, neo-nazis, posed as
Article LinksDozens of reporters descended on the small town of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to cover the trial in August. In all, more than 60 journalists including reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio requested credentials.The few protesters who appeared were demonstrating against the Southern Poverty Law Center's civil suit against the Aryan Nation and Butler on behalf of a mother and son who were assaulted by armed guards after driving past the group's compound. They said their car backfired, and the guards, thinking they had been shot at, chased them. Two guards were sentenced to prison for the attack.Capt. Ben Wolfinger, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, granted seven press passes to FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents monitoring protestors outside the courtroom.Tom Clouse, a reporter for The Spokesman-Review, uncovered the plan and wrote about it for the newspaper. Clouse suspected the motive was to allow undercover agents to photograph suspected Aryan Nations members. Clouse said Wolfinger, not the county sheriff, suggested the FBI use media credentials to blend in.During the first day of the trial, Clouse said the large number of journalists made it difficult to spot the imposters. However, as the trial moved into the second and third day, journalists began taking notice of some photographers' strange behavior.
Description:A report on the FBI agents who posed as journalists during a trial of a white supremacist in Idaho.
Rights: Access to online material.