Two self-avowed white supremacists, Holly Ann Grigsby and David Pederson, are awaiting trial in district courts in Oregon and Washington State for a five-month crime spree in 2011 that included kidnapping, robbery and murder—all in the name of preserving and purifying the "white race."  They are charged under the same racketeering statute that was used by federal prosecutors in 1985 in Seattle, when twenty-three members of The Order were indicted for a murder, robbery and other crimes.

The Order criminal enterprise lasted longer, involved more combatants and was considerably more sophisticated politically than the most recent case. Indeed, the legacy of The Order included multiple Klan, Aryan Nations and neo-Nazi organizations adopting the "white bastion" strategy: trying to create a whites-only republic in the states of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.  Although it had its detractors inside the white nationalist movement at the time, the strategy was promoted widely until the defeat of the militia movement in the late 1990s.

Today, the white nationalist idea of secession, carving out a piece of territory in the Pacific Northwest, is regaining adherents.  An uptick in activity in the region, increased discussion of the possibility of establishing a white republic, and the migration of a few white souls into states of Montana and Idaho may be signs that more trouble is in the offing.

After four days of uncontroverted testimony detailing the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Scott Roeder took the stand on Thursday, January 28, in his own defense. He betrayed not an ounce of emotion as he described pulling a .22 caliber pistol out of his pocket and shooting Dr. Tiller in the head. His voice showed no regret when, under the guidance of his defense attorney, he walked the jury through his crime. There was no anger to display when he was supposed to be frustrated by the inability of shooters, bombers and an anti-choice attorney general to shut Dr. Tiller's clinic down in the past.

Leonard Zeskind will be following and writing about the trial as it proceeds.

Picking the jury that will vote on whether Scott Roeder murdered Dr. Tiller in the first degree or whether he simply committed voluntary manslaughter is continuing. Thevoir dire process appears to be fairly thorough. Prospective jurors spend an average of thirty minutes privately discussing their views with the court. They also answer eighty-eight questions on a written firm.

To Understand the Trial of Scott Roeder Read
Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War
by James Risen and Judy L. Thomas
Basic Books 1998

Leonard Zeskind will be following and writing about the trial as it proceeds.

If you want to understand the back story as Scott Roeder goes to trial in Wichita, Kansas for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, go to James Risen and Judy L. Thomas' 1998 book,Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War. It is all there: the dynamic inside the "pro-life" movement that produces killers when the chances are not high that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade; the emergence of the Army of God as a supra-organizational name tag for clinic bombers; the first "Defensive Action" statement signed by people who supported doctor killers; Shelley Shannon's 1993 shooting of Dr. Tiller; and the mass civil disobedience of the "Summer of Mercy."

IREHR President Leonard Zeskind will be following and writing about the trial of Scott Roeder, the accused killer of Dr. Tiller, as it proceeds. His first story is available now on the Huffington Post - click here to read it.  Check back often for updates as the trial progresses.

The November 16 murder of Ivan Khutorskoi in Moscow underscores the growing threat of ultra-nationalist violence in the Russian Federation.