The city of Coeur d’Alene, located in North Idaho, is fast becoming the epicentre of a burgeoning socio-cultural and political movement that has been quietly growing over the past few years. This area is renowned for its homogeneity, with 90 percent of its population being white and Christian. It is now also home to a significant number of disillusioned Trump supporters, zealous pro-second amendmenters, and hardline Christian conservatives; all who are part of what has been dubbed the ‘American Redoubt’.
The American Redoubt is a loose collective of like-minded individuals from across America who have chosen to flock to this rural corner of the United States in preparation for what they see as an inevitable economic collapse and subsequent lawlessness and chaos. They are disgruntled by the current government’s handling of affairs in America and seek greater autonomy; believing that Christian principles should be held paramount.
Chris Walsh, a local real estate agent, has seen an exponential increase in property sales as more redoubters seek refuge in this region. Many buyers cite crime-ridden cities as their motivation to leave and instead find solace in living off-the-grid amongst other “patriots”. Security and self-defensibility are top priorities for these citizens.
Unfortunately, this community holds a dark place within American history too; for it was here that Richard Butler, leader of the neo-Nazi Aryan Nation group set up his headquarters some years ago. The group had intense anti-semitic views mixed with racism and even engaged in violent attacks on innocent people. As such, they were labelled by the FBI as terrorists back in 2001.
Today though, the redoubt movement continues to boom; with Matt Shea acting as its unapologetic spokesperson – a former US Republican Congressman accused of domestic terrorism who once pushed forward plans to replace the government with a fundamentalist religious state. There is no sign yet that this movement will abate any time soon – particularly amidst an ever growing political divide across America today – making it more pertinent than ever before to bring awareness towards this situation through documentaries such as ‘American Redoubt’. Such documentaries offer us an insight into life within these communities and help us understand both sides so that we can make better informed decisions about our own paths ahead.
