Aryans Protest Strip Club

Members of the Aryan Nations staged a protest Wednesday evening at a strip club on the Idaho-Washington border.

“Get this filth out of your neighborhood,” an unidentified member of the neo-Nazi group yelled from a bullhorn outside the Stateline Showgirls club.

It was unclear why the half-dozen Aryan Nations members were protesting.

A counter-protester, draped in a U.S. flag, stood near the Aryans outside the club, which has been open about six months.

“They have the right to march. We have the right to be here,” Stateline Showgirls manager Dave McKibbin said.

McKibbin speculated the Aryans may be trying to drum up publicity for their planned march through Coeur d’Alene in July.

After the group left around 9 p.m., someone from the club put up a sign on the marquee that read, “Honk if you love showgirls.”

A club employee, who didn’t want to give her name, said “(The Aryans) are helping us more than they are hurting us.”

There were no reports of violence, although there were some tense moments. One unidentified man tried to pick a fight with one of the Aryans before his friends dragged him away.

A member of the Aryans also denounced one of the arriving exotic dancers.

Across Seltice Way at the El Patio Bar & Grill, the Aryan visitors were not popular.

Bartender Keith Warner said, “It’s just so odd, now they want morals. They used to be against Jews and blacks. Now they’re against women.”