Browse Primary Sources
"FBI agents pose as photographers during Aryan Nation trial" - Louis Rolfes - News Media and the Law
Dozens 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.
News Media and The Law 2000-10-30
"SPJ, RTNDA protest FBI agents' posing as journalists" - Freedom Forum Staff and Associated Press
Two journalism organizations have criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an incident in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last week in which federal agents posed as journalists. The FBI agents were trying to blend into a crowd so they could photograph neo-Nazi skinheads rallying outside the Coeur d'Alene courthouse, where the leader of the Aryan Nations white-supremacist group was on trial for civil rights violations. The agents were uncovered by real journalists covering the trial of Richard Butler. The Kootenai County sheriff's department revoked the agents' false credentials on Aug. 30. Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger admitted he initially directed seven agents to obtain media passes so they would look like news photographers covering the trial. "I was surprised it became an issue," he said. Advocates for the news media said it is dangerous for law officers to pose as journalists. Such deceptions could lead to physical threats against reporters, who are not armed, said Kyle Elyse Niederpruem, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Associated PressFreedom Forum 2000-09-05
Reaction: Task Force Vote Fraud Investigation: "20 More Vote Fraud Indictments Expected" - George Bliss - Chicago Tribune
"The federal grand jury that indicted 40 persons for vote fraud last week will soon return at least 20 more indictments, it was learned by The Tribune yesterday. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1972-09-18
Reaction: Task Force Vote Fraud Investigation: "Percy Urges FBI Probe of Vote Fraud in Chicago" - Unsigned - Chicago Tribune
"Sen. Percy (R., Ill.) today urged Atty. Gen. Richard Kleindienst to order the Federal Bureau of Investigation to examine evidence of vote fraud in Chicago and, possibly, to supervise the general election in November. . ."
The Chicago Tribune 1972-09-15