Disclaimer: nazi stories are so not usually my cup of tea, but this is far too good to pass up - it's all over local front pages here in Coeur d'Alene. In fact, I've really gotta call "SCOOP" on Justin Elliott because this is sooo totally Muckraker these days. Anyhow. Get this. Someone tried to blow up the wife of an Attorney best known for defending hate groups such as the Aryan Nations ...  who was arrested last Friday for contracting someone to kill his wife.

Aaaaah Nazis. And the lawyers that represent them.



In this case, one Edgar Steele. You may recall him as the author of a little book entitled "Defensive Racism." No? Well, you'll be shocked to hear he describes himself as "exceedingly politically incorrect." He is best known for losing an historic case brought against the Aryan Nations that ended in the Nazis losing everything, their compound being destroyed and all sorts of lulz that gave the Aryan boys a big sad.  Before my time really (Fun Fact: an alternative local story holds that the original incident in the lawsuit involved egging the nazis - not looking for a wallet as claimed).

Last Friday, the politically incorrect Mr. Steele was arrested in Sagle for trying to hire someone to kill his wife. According to the Local Station KXLY:

The affidavit of probable cause in Steele's arrest shows that he was willing to pay $500 in cash for travel expenses and promised $25,000 plus an additional $100,000 if his wife's life insurance paid out.Steele, according to court documents, wanted his wife and mother-in-law killed in a car crash last Friday while his wife visited her mother in Oregon and wanted their deaths to look like an accident. Steele allegedly warned the hit man that he didn't want to be left taking care of a paraplegic if the accident was unsuccessful.

I think his compassion in wanting to be sure his wife didn't linger on as a burden is an extra special touch, because everyone knows how much it sucks to linger on as a burden. Anyway the nice thing about living in Couer d'Alene is that we have the federal court house and they bring all the idiots down here (or up, or maybe over ... you get the idea). Today was his arraignment.

That's where things start to get a bit strange. The short story; a pipe bomb was found attached to Mrs. Steele's car when she stopped in for an oil change, Mr. Steele doesn't get bail, Mrs. Steele freaks out over the restraining order and wants her $&*!~ car back, and to talk to her husband. Also. Now would be a good time to note, that while Alaska gets credit for her, Sarah Palin hails from just a few miles north of Sagle. Not really apropos of anything, just popped into my head.


There are two notable parts to this ... first the Bomb:

Coeur d'Alene auto shop employees found a pipe bomb attached to an SUV belonging to the alleged victim in a murder plot Tuesday [...]A worker saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb attached to the bottom of the car, removed the vehicle from the shop bay and called police, prompting an evacuation of nearby businesses and a closure of U.S. 95.
[...]
The bomb was a 1-foot piece of galvanized pipe with cap screws, with two fuses attached to the exhaust system, shop employees said. [...] A bomb squad unit from Spokane detonated the device, said Lt. Jay Heintz of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department. It was deemed to be explosive, but Heintz provided no additional detail.

So, the guys over at the Quick Lube almost get blown up working on the vehicle of a woman who is the alleged target of a murder plot. Now, I'll have a bit more to say on the Quick Lube fellas in a bit, but on to the arraignment. Mr. Steele decided to represent himself.

Steele's wife and son were at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene about 4:30 p.m. for his first court appearance, where he asked to be released while awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. The judge declined and ordered Steele not to contact his mother-in-law and wife.

"I'm certainly no threat to witnesses or jurors and there's no evidence - absolutely no evidence - to support that," Steele said.

Steele called the order "an unconscionable" assault on his marriage and asked Dale to consult Steele's wife and son before ruling, saying they "are in no danger from me.

"They know me far better than the U.S. government does," Steele said. "The United States government is doing everything in its power to try to drive a wedge between me and my wife,"

I am really quite surprised the Judge wasn't convinced. Let's face it, you wouldn't want to assault a marriage. Certainly not with a bomb, or anything. Pesky courts and their wedges. The government just doesn't value the sanctity of marriage like it used to. In light of everything, you might think that Mrs. Steele would be happy for a bit of space. Collect her thoughts.  ... run as far away from this psycho as she can get! (umm, alleged psycho). Oooor

Steele's wife cried after the hearing and slammed her hand against a wall outside the courtroom. "I need to be allowed to talk to my husband - I need to not be stripped of my car," she said to court officials.

In fairness, maybe she wants to talk to her husband to tell him to bugger off, and then use the car to GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIS CRAZY ASS. Something tells me, no. Thankfully the court injunction is in place.

Snark aside, this bomb is a pretty crazy thing to have happen. It implies that Steele successfully hired an additional hit man. The son reports that the family has gotten death threats, but it seems a stretch to think it was a random coincidence. If Steele thought his wife would be killed on Friday (the day of his arrest), why would he hire a second hit man? And why would the hit man still try to do it if the man who hired him was in Jail ... for hiring a hit man? Or did Steele arrange it FROM jail somehow, and if so, why? There really are a bunch of hanging questions that will be interesting to learn the answers to.

Now. Back to those Quick Lube guys.

"Usually, we find things like sticks," said technician Josh Young, who first spotted the device. "We're talking Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Nothing ever happens like this."

Co-worker Charles Tyron said, "We were all down there gawking at it."

Young said, "I brought her (the driver) down to show it to her. She was surprised to see it. She made comments about death threats. Her family had some issue."

Well no kidding she was surprised to see it. This brings up a fundamental essence of Idaho that is often hard to get across. In some places, a couple little flashing lights can trigger a freakout in an entire population. Here, they find an obvious bomb and react by gawking a bit and wandering out to get the customer's opinion on the situation - and reach the consensus to push the thing the heck out of the shop. It is the same attitude that led a little town to wrap the local bar's outhouse in cellophane and duct tape to "secure" it from biological attack - just like President Bush recommended. The natives just laugh at stuff that makes the rest of the nation have a total panic attack.

The Aryan Nations had a significant impact on the North Idaho area, this article is a really good portrait of that impact. Asshats like Steele here are very visible reminders of their legacy.  But there have been a few Nazis everywhere I ever lived, even DC. The ones in Las Vegas were F'n scary! What isn't here in N. Idaho is one iota of fear or respect for them. They get all the reverence of another absurd Bush terror warning. For example, a few nazi-types rented a house not far away (across the street from a buddy's work) - tried flying a flag for a second (that didn't last long). Just last week some old lady was out there in the middle of the street calling them all sorts of names and mooning them, no idea why, really, but that's typical. Nobody is scared. So, if you ever dreamed of turning around, bending over and telling a nazi to kiss your ass; enjoy a smile at the thought of the nazis having to a wrinkly 60ish Y.O. butt waved in their face and being told to do just that (value added local flavor, Muckraker Nazi coverage could never provide).