Anti-Hate Group Calls Attention To Existing Threats 600 Attend Coalition’s Weekend Workshops At Gonzaga University

On one side of town Saturday, three bombing suspects sat in jail cells, held without bail until a grand jury convenes next month.

On the other side, 600 people attended a weekend conference dedicated to fighting hate crimes. Though organizers intentionally chose Spokane for the conference, they refused to release specific locations of Gonzaga University workshops because they were concerned about safety.

To their surprise, there were no protesters and the event went along smoothly and quietly, organizers said.

Bill Wassmuth, chairman of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, said in light of recent events, the coalition thought Spokane was a prime choice for the conference.

“We’re here to call attention to the threats that exist,” he said. “We need to address race and bigotry in our environment.”

The three men now in the Spokane County Jail were arrested in connection with robberies and bombings in the Spokane Valley earlier this year - crimes linked to militia groups and white supremacy.

At Saturday’s workshop, presenters came armed with information for the educators, social workers, military officers and students who participated. Leonard Zeskind, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, told a crowd of more than 80 how to focus on fighting trouble in their towns.

He urged them to become more organized and diligent in their efforts and to form political action groups.

“Get out there in the political trenches and go door to door,” he said. “It’s the American way and it works.”

Some participants said they’ve taken extreme measures to stop the “paranoid people” from running down their communities. One woman from southeastern Idaho said she and her husband keep loaded guns on their nightstands and rotate the bedrooms they sleep in.

“I’m scared,” she said.

One man said he knows the lengths the militia groups will go to get government off their backs. Lawrence Wasden, deputy chief of staff for the Idaho attorney general has received countless threats from various militia groups in his state. Some demand hundreds of millions of dollars, others seek his arrest.

“You can laugh or cry,” he said. “I choose to laugh.”

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