Richard Girnt Butler
Aryan Nations
Richard Girnt Butler was born in Bennet Colorado on February 23rd 1918 to Winifred Girnt and Clarence Butler. Eventually moving to Los Angeles in 1931. Butler graduated high school in 1938 moving on to attend LA City College with a major in aeronautical engineering.
Butler’s involvement in Racial politics began in the late 1930’s, when Richard Butler was allegedly involved in the Silver Legion of America. In 1941 Butler got married to Betty Litch starting their 50 year long marriage (Betty tragically passed away December 1st, 1995) It was around this time that Butler enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps where he further developed his admiration for Hitler and began his long lasting career in engineering.
Butler came across William Gale and Wesley Swift in the early 1960’s during his time living in Whittier California (Gale and Swift were two very early adopters of Christian Identity) the three men formed the Christian Defense League in 1964, beginning their long working relationship as pro-White Christians. Butler lived in various areas of California until he eventually left to Northern Idaho from his last California residence of Palmdale in the early 1970’s.
It was in Northern Idaho that Butler was able to purchase 20 acres of land in Hayden Lake (a suburb of Coeur d’Alene) this land served as the foundation of Butlers primary projects; the Aryan Nations alongside the Church of Jesus Christ Christian. This property and organization was not only for worship but also perpetrated multiple political initiatives such as parades, pamphlets, and mass mailers. This location eventually served as a collaborative space in which Racialists from across the world would gather for the annual “Aryan Nations World Congress” (some notable figures attending include Louis Beam, James Wickstrom, Robert Miles and many more).
In the early 1980’s Butler became very controversial due to his alleged involvement with “The Order” (AKA The Silent Brotherhood or Bruder schweigen) governmental agencies allege that Butler received large amounts of money (over $400,000) from The Silent Brothers stemming from their various actions including bank and armored car robberies. These connections eventually brought legal action against Butler, listing him among the 14 movement figures involved in the 1987 “Fort Smith sedition trial”. Butler and the other men involved in this trial were not found responsible for the claims levied against them.
Butler and the Aryan Nations continued their services and activism consistently throughout the 1990’s until an unfortunate scenario played out in the year 2000, when anti-White agitators were confronted by Aryan Nations members, these anti-White actors then acted as a buffer for the SPLC to levy a large scale litigation campaign against Richard Butler and his church. This lawsuit by the SPLC unfortunately ended in a $6.3 million judgement against Butler and his members, leading to the loss of their property. The non-Whites who received the property later donated it to a leftist university which converted the property to “Peace Park” in September 2000.
After the loss of his property in 2000 Butler was gifted a house by a wealthy supporter, the Aryan Nations attempted to salvage their organization and continued their actions, hosting their final World Congress in 2002 with an unfortunate low attendance of under 100 people.
Richard Butler passed peacefully in his sleep on September 8th, 2004 in his home, leaving behind a legacy of collaboration and perseverance. No matter what transpired Butler always kept his sights set on what mattered and forged a path for those who would come after him.
Rest In Peace
