White Supremacist

This is an encore presentation.

Derek Black grew up at the center of white nationalism. His father founded Stormfront, the largest racist community on the Internet, and his godfather, David Duke, was a KKK Grand Wizard. By the time Derek was 19, he had become an elected politician with his own daily radio show and a growing voice in white nationalism. But after enrolling in college and growing his circle of friends outside a cloistered and racist movement, Derek began to question those beliefs.

In August, a poster surfaced online advertising that Hammerfest would go down on September 30th in Boise. The event is sponsored by the Hammerskins, a white supremacist group that started in Dallas in the late 1980s. The white power themed concerts have taken place around the country and even in Budapest.

In the summer 2013 edition of its quarterly magazine, the Southern Poverty Law Center details the racist writings of a white supremacist named Farnham O’Reilly. 

The Alabama-based organization keeps an eye on such authors and recently discovered O’Reilly is actually the pen name of a certified public accountant from Payette, Idaho named Tim Folke. 

Shaun Winkler’s beliefs are no secret in north Idaho. The 34-year-old was a protégé of Richard Butler, the former leader of the Aryan Nations, once headquartered here. More recently, Winkler has picketed Mexican restaurants and a Martin Luther King Day event in Coeur d’Alene.

So when Winkler announced he was running for county sheriff, photojournalist Matt McKnight asked to meet with him.

“I met him there at his property … It was pretty obvious to me that what he’s after is building a compound, having that compound for people to live on," McKnight says.