‘Do I move or do I stay?’ Idaho residents fear right-wing takeover by out-of-state extremists

Militias and right-wing extremists are throwing Idaho politics into turmoil with an influx of out-of-state MAGA radicals.

Right-wing extremists have long been drawn to the state for its wide-open spaces, narrow racial diversity and libertarian politics, but longtime residents say this feels different, and members of both the Democratic and Republican parties see Tuesday's primary elections as a possible breaking point, reported HuffPost.

“They have completely rebranded what it is to be a conservative here in north Idaho, and they have literally excommunicated and cleaned house of any rational, regular conservative from their ranks," said Shawn Keenan, a Democratic activist from Coeur d'Alene.

White nationalist Vincent James Foxx, who recently moved from California to nearby Post Falls, is a good example of what Keenan is concerned about.

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“We are going to take over this state,” Foxx said in a Feb. 16 video on BitChute, where he has nearly 70,000 subscribers. “We have a great large group of people and that group is growing. A true, actual right-wing takeover is happening right now in the state of Idaho, and there’s nothing that these people can do about it. So if you’re a legislator here, either get in line, or get out of the way.”

The 36-year-old Foxx, who was at the Jan. 6 "Stop the Steal" rally, has ties to Idaho's right-wing lieutenant governor Janice McGeachin, who's running for governor in the GOP primary, and fellow white nationalist Dave Reilly, a Pennsylvania transplant who also lives in Post Falls -- where he ran unsuccessfully for school board with the backing of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

“The solution is local politics: Amassing power in these pockets of the country until it’s time to unify,” Foxx said. “I’ve only been here for a couple of months and I’m tapped in the way that I am. You can do it too.”

Right-wing radicals, including Nevada transplant Ammon Bundy -- who's also running for governor -- have targeted their more moderate opponents with "confrontational politics" to force them to quit or retire in fear for their safety, and they're clear about their intentions to impose Christian nationalism on the state.

“Every single day, I wake up and I do this debate in my head: ‘Do I move or do I stay?’” Keenan said, briefly breaking into tears. “Every day. So I guess maybe that’s an indication of how hopeful I am.”