Roundup: Neo-Nazi Compound, Community Policing & LGBT Rights

Neo-Nazi attempts to rebuild compound in Idaho

Photo by Matt McKnight.

A man who studied under Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler is trying to rebuild a neo-Nazi compound in Idaho that was demolished more than a decade ago, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But Shaun Patrick Winkler, 33, has likely already failed in that attempt for several reasons—the SPLC has found that Winkler has stopped making payments on the property and that it is going into foreclosure. Winkler has also “logged his property without permission” and “violated state land use rules.” He also ran for sheriff in the area and lost.

“The story there for me is that he’s failed at this attempt. That’s the real story here today,” says Tony Stewart, a local human rights leader, in an interview with Northwest Public Radio.

Tony Stewart is a co-founder of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and taught political science at the North Idaho College for nearly 40 years. Read some of his writing for NIOT, here.

Community Policing Efforts Ramping Up Across Country

Screengrab from WTVM.com.

In cities and towns across the country, police departments and community members are partnering up to help foster better relationships and improve public safety.

Cities like Columbus, GA have already taken steps toward implementing a more comprehensive community policing program. In 2008, Mayor Jim Wetherington increased funding to the city’s police department while emphasizing programs like D.A.R.E., Columbus Against Drugs and neighborhood watch groups.

Neighborhood watch captain Isaac Brown wants the city to go even further. Brown has been a watch captain in the suburb of Edgewood for 10 years. He told WTVM that he has seen efforts to increase community policing fail in the past.

The department is seeking support from the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services program, which also partnered with Not In Our Town for the national release of Light in the Darkness (niot.org/lightinthedarkness). COPS advises and supports local police in community policing programs. Read more about the COPS program.

Other cities around the country have taken up greater efforts to implement community policing programs—a police chief in Petaluma, CA, is contending with budget cuts by sending his officers directly to people in their neighborhoods, while the Bluffton, GA, police department is considering greater community policing after members of one neighborhood offered advice on how to improve safety in a local intersection.

UN Secretary General, Ricky Martin Stand Together for LGBT Rights

Left, from the Ricky Martin Facebook page.

Latin music star Ricky Martin was afraid to be himself despite his years in the spotlight.

"For many years, I lived in fear because I was hating myself,” Martin said at a United Nations conference on LGBT rights this week. “Because I grew up listening to a very crooked concept, 'You're gay. You belong in hell.'"

Martin recently joined with UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon during the UN “Leadership in the Fight Against Homophobia” event that discussed countries around the world with laws banning homosexuality.

Ban was unequivocal in his support for LGBT rights during the conference:

"I am here to again denounce violence and demand action for true equality. Let me say this loud and clear: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. They, too, are born free and equal. I stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their struggle for human rights."

Read the full transcript of Ban’s speech on the UN’s website.

Discovered on the Groundswell Blog.