Cenarrusa Says Militia Duped Him Backs Away From Appearance Of Supporting Militia Movement

Idaho Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa says he was deceived into lending his name and office to the militia movement.

“I’m not supporting the militia, because I don’t know anything about them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Boise attorney Dan Williams on Wednesday called on U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, to renounce the Blackfoot-based national director of the U.S. Militia Association.

Last April, Cenarrusa appeared at a Coeur d’Alene conference organized by the Concerned Citizens of Idaho, a North Idaho anti-government group with militia ties. He also spoke to the U.S. Militia Association leaders at a Statehouse meeting in February.

Cenarrusa said he agreed to attend the April 1994 Coeur d’Alene conference because he thought it was a gathering of county officials. But the Portland-based Coalition for Human Dignity said at least one organizer there had known racist ties and Cenarrusa’s presence gave the gathering legitimacy.

“I think I was used by not letting me know what that was about,” Cenarrusa said Wednesday.

He said he agreed to speak to the February meeting at the Statehouse because he thought fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Butch Otter and Attorney General Alan Lance also were going to speak about the role of government. Otter and Lance did not attend. State schools Superintendent Anne Fox filled in.

At the end of his speech on the role of the public servant, Cenarrusa shared his concerns that any militia other than the National Guard might be illegal.

A story quoting Cenarrusa appears along with his picture in the February edition of Aide-de-Camp, the U.S. Militia Association’s newsletter. Cenarrusa also is quoted in a story in the March edition.

The secretary said he did not know that a story and picture of him ran in the February newsletter. He said the photo, an old one, was used without his permission and that he was misquoted.

“If he feels he’s been insulted by us, we want to apologize. We certainly didn’t mean to cause him any problems,” U.S. Militia Association member Wendy Dalton said. “We thought the picture was public domain because it was printed before and it was in the printing company’s archive.”

Cenarrusa said he also was misquoted in a March newsletter article in which he is said to have told militia leaders, “We need to figure out a way to call you out as the militia and get you recognized.”

Dalton said she and 10 members recall him saying something like that.

“The reason we remember it is because we were pleasantly surprised that he would say that,” she said.

The U.S. Militia Association denounced the Oklahoma bombing. They stressed their organization is not a military group but intended to protect individual rights through changing laws.

Cenarrusa said while he believes the organization is a good group of people, he is unsure of their motives. Still, he said he would accept an invitation to speak again before the U.S. Militia Association if “good government” is the topic.

Williams, a Democrat who may challenge Chenoweth for re-election next year, said U.S. Militia Association director Samuel Sherwood told a March 2 militia meeting, “Go up and look legislators in the face because some day you may be forced to blow it off.”

Sherwood earlier confirmed the substance of that remark, but later denied it.

“Elected officials need to make it clear that they oppose paramilitary extremists and the climate of violence they promote,” Williams said.

Chenoweth said she condemns any group that advocates violence.

“However, I will not condemn any group or individual purely on the basis of guilt by association,” she said. “I am thoroughly disgusted by the attempts of various opportunistic individuals to capitalize on this event to further a political agenda.”