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FBI Uncovers Hamilton's Ties to White Supremacist Group

Moscow Shooter Was Member of Aryan Nations


By Joan Opyr, 5-23-07

The Spokesman Review has reported that Jason Hamilton, who on May 19th killed his wife, a Moscow police officer, and the caretaker at the First Presbyterian Church, before turning the gun on himself, was a member of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group founded by the late Richard Butler.  Hamilton apparently joined the Aryan Nations in 2000, two years after moving to Moscow. 

A visit to the official Aryan Nations website, if you can stand it, reveals that their motto is “Violence Solves Everything!” The exclamation mark is theirs, not mine.

The Spokesman Review also reports that Hamilton was “licensed by the federal government to possess fully automatic weapons, including a military-style machine gun.” Local law enforcement officials seem to have no idea how Hamilton, who had a long and violent history, acquired the license.  Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch was also puzzled as to how Hamilton had secured a concealed weapons permit.  His history of domestic violence should have precluded him from owning any firearms, much less being granted a concealed weapons permit.

Hamilton’s ties to the Aryan Nations were uncovered by the FBI investigation of his residence at 1020 Julian Way in Moscow.  Hamilton’s court records will be posted to the Latah County Website sometime today or tomorrow.  Those records indicate that the shooter had a long history of domestic abuse dating back at least fifteen years.  Hamilton’s criminal history extends across four states, including Arizona, Oklahoma, California, and Idaho.  Prior to Saturday night’s fatal shootings, Hamilton had been arrested and/or charged for a number of violent crimes, some drug-related.

For those interested in the long and disturbing history of white supremacist groups in the American West, Dr. Evelyn A. Schlatter’s Aryan Cowboys: White Supremacists and the Search for a New Frontier, 1970 - 2000, is an excellent place to begin.  Schlatter interviewed Richard Butler, the New Mexico Militia in Hobbs, and members of The Order.



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