FCC slaps ex-Idaho Nazi sympathizer with nearly $10 million fine for racist robocalls

[TexasTowelie]

A Nazi sympathizer and former Idaho resident faces a $9.9 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission after he plagued various parts of the country with racist, anti-Semitic and threatening robocalls.

Scott D. Rhodes, 51, who moved to Libby, Montana, from Sandpoint, in North Idaho, in late 2018, spent much of that year recording vitriolic messages that rang tens of thousands of phones in at least eight states.

In addition to attacking Black and Jewish politicians, Rhodes’ messages threatened a journalist in Sandpoint, targeted an Iowa community grieving the murder of a local college student, and attempted to influence the jury in a murder case against a white supremacist in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In announcing the fine on Jan. 14, the FCC said Rhodes repeatedly violated the Truth in Caller ID Act by manipulating the calls to make them appear as if they came from local phone numbers, a process known as “neighbor spoofing.”

Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article248885559.html

[brewens]

1. I still have fond memories of beating the shit out of Sandpoint in football when I was in

high school. I was an offensive tackle. The kid going against me when I was a senior was probably glad they were losing so bad when I was on the bench in the second half. I was stomping a hole right through him the whole first half.

[mopinko]

2. those spoofed numbers.

for a while i was getting spam calls from numbers that not only used my area code, but the 1st 3 numbers of my phone number. after the 1st one it was nice, cuz i looked at the numbers, and knew they were spam.
nothing like this crap, tho. jeebus. what is wrong w ppl.

[TruckFump]

4. Same here.

Area code and first 3 numbers. Instant block after I saw it once.

[asiliveandbreathe]

5. Hubby got call yesterday..was number in our area code.. - something, something

about soc security...I reported the number to the DO Not Call registry..making sure we were registered at the same time..we have been registered since 2011..our cell company usually IDs spam calls..they must have found a work around...

Register and report...

[AllaN01Bear]

3. wish the fcc would go after the non nazi robo calls and neighbor spoofing.

esp, the hit and run ones .

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Here's an article at DU about Rhodes from 2018:

I was going through old files.

Fri Sep 28, 2018: Neo-Nazi activist behind racist robocalls linked to threats of Idaho newspaper

Source: The Guardian

The far right

Neo-Nazi activist behind racist robocalls linked to threats of Idaho newspaper

Sandpoint Reader is target of new calls describing publisher as 'cancer' that 'needs to be burned out'

Jason Wilson in Portland, Oregon

@jason_a_w
https://twitter.com/jason_a_w

Fri 28 Sep 2018 06.00 EDT

A neo-Nazi activist who sent out hostile and abusive robocalls aimed at top politicians and others has been linked to threats to the publisher of a small local newspaper that first exposed his activities. ... Scott Rhodes, who lives in Sandpoint, Idaho, was first identified by the Sandpoint Reader and linked with a campaign that targeted high-profile political races across the US and even murder victims with racist and antisemitic robocalls.

In recent days threatening robocalls and letters have been sent to the publishers of the Reader, an alternative newspaper, people linked to it and residents in the small rural town. ... The robocall described journalist Ben Olson, the publisher of the Reader, as "a cancer on wholesome north Idaho", adding that "cancer needs to be burned out".

When Rhodes was asked about the call by the Guardian via email, he sent a link to a YouTube video that reproduced the robocall audio, and featured video of a large stack of copies of the Sandpoint Reader being set on fire. ... That video has since been removed by YouTube. The hundreds of newspapers burned in the video represent a significant slice of the Reader's print run, which Olson says is 5,000 a week.
....

The Reader unmasked Rhodes last December, after the neo-Nazi activist left racist propaganda at local high schools. (1) They also revealed that he had carried out similar activities in Alexandria, Virginia. ... Rhodes makes a virulently racist video podcast called The Road to Power. He has been associated with similar robocalls in Idaho and at least five other states.
....

(1) http://sandpointreader.com/person-interest-racist-cd-distribution-shs-also-investigated-virginia-similar-actions/

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/28/idaho-robocalls-sandpoint-reader-neo-nazi

== == == == == ==

I'd prefer a local source, but this is the best I've got.

-- -- -- --

LaughedAtHat Retweeted:

https://twitter.com/Popehat

New from me: neonazi Scott Rhodes has sent racist and anti Semitic robocalls to six states.

Now he is using them to try to hurt the smalltown Idaho newspaper that first exposed him.

Link to tweet