Whitefish Police Skeptical Of, Ready For Threatened Nazi March

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Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial addressing the Glacier Country Pachyderm Club in Kalispell Friday
Nicky Ouellet

Whitefish Chief of Police Bill Dial says he’s doubtful a threatened armed march through Whitefish will actually happen.

A neo-Nazi website is calling for the march on Martin Luther King Day.

The website previously urged readers to target several local residents and businesses with anti-Semitic online harassment in defense of the parents of emerging white nationalist leader Richard Spencer.

Speaking at the weekly Glacier Country Pachyderm Club meeting in Kalispell, Dial said his department and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are cooperating, and have a plan.

"If they come, if they're going to protest in our city, I want them to understand they're going to do it our way," Dial said, "or we’re going to kick their ass."

The city of Whitefish has not received an application for a parade permit, which is required to march legally. Dial urged people to ignore the march if it occurs, adding law enforcement has, "a good handle on it."

A group in Whitefish is hosting a so-called “Love Not Hate” block party tomorrow. Organizers say the event is a stand against oppression.

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Nicky is MTPR's Flathead-area reporter.