Two Neo-Nazis arrested for intimidation

By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter

Two Libby men with apparent ties to a hate group face felony charges for allegedly using racial slurs against a white woman and her children, who are part native American.

The woman told police the threats by Daniel Roland Benson and Ervin Stradley weren't the first against her family, according to court records at District Justice Gary Hicks' office. She also told police she was afraid for her life.

Libby Police charged Benson, 28, and Stradley, 33, both of 821 Louisiana Ave., with malicious intimidation. Police say both men belong to the National Socialist Movement - a Neo-Nazi organization listed as a hate group. Benson also maintains a National Socialist Movement Web site.

Before Benson and Stradley were arrested, they were being investigated for allegedly distributing National Socialist fliers, said Libby Police Chief Clay Coker.

"We were in the middle of that until this happened," Coker said.

The intimidation charges stem from an alleged incident that occurred near midnight on June 30 as the 41-year-old mother and her 11- and 13-year-old daughters sat in their car at a red light at Louisiana and U.S. Highway 2 near McDonald's. The suspects' home is at the intersection.

According to court papers filed by police:

The woman said while waiting for the light to turn green, she heard the men yelling and using racial slurs from their home.

She then drove into McDonald's and saw the men again while waiting for her food at the drive-through window. The woman said Benson and Stradley stood at the edge of the yard with their hands on their hips.

When she got home and told her husband, police were called. She told police she was afraid for her life and that her daughters were both crying with fear.

Police charged Benson and Stradley with the hate-motivated felony and disorderly conduct and assault, both misdemeanors.

The older daughter told police that prior to June 30 she saw one of the men at another location. He allegedly looked at her and pointed to his gun or knife he was sharpening.

The younger daughter told a similar story.

Earlier on June 30, when the girls' father was at a Libby gas station, one of the suspects motioned the man with a closed fist.

Benson and Stradley remain in Lincoln County Detention Center after failing to post $10,000 bond. Both will have preliminary hearings on Tuesday, July 18, before Hicks.