Court orders man to remove swastika signs

Neighbors of Kalispell radio host John Stokes recently won a legal decision to force him to remove his Nazi-themed signs near their property.

Stokes is contesting the ruling, claiming some of the final plaintiffs' motions were mailed to the wrong post-office box.

And a Stokes counterlawsuit - alleging harassment and discrimination - apparently is still alive, with an Aug. 7 conference set to schedule a trial date and a discovery timetable.

On June 11, Lake County District Judge Kim Christopher ruled that Stokes could not display the disputed signs on the back road shared by the two sides, and that he must pay $5,853 in legal costs to plaintiffs Donna and Peter Poeschel of Arlington, Wash.

The Poeschels, who own 80 acres next to Stokes' northern Lake County home, sued in August 2007 over two signs on the jointly used road.

The signs read:

"Keep out. No entry. No stopping. No hunting. No travel. No trespassing. If you stop long enough to read the sign, we've had enough time to put a rifle scope on your head and vehicle. Get out and stay out. This property protected by The Brotherhood."

Each sign had several small black swastikas on it. The signs did not elaborate on "The Brotherhood."

Last year, one sign was posted in the access road's entrance to the 80-acre property where John Stokes, his wife, Pamela, and his daughter Elizabeth live. The other was posted next to the entrance to the Poeschels' property.

The Stokes' and Poeschels' lands are the only properties served by the gravel Raven Way, which branches off Red Owl Trail, which branches off Montana 83 just south of the Flathead County/Lake County border.

The signs were not on Raven Way late last week.

Stokes declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Poeschels and their attorney could not be reached for comment.

THE DISPUTE began in May 2007 when the Poeschels put their Lake County land up for sale. Their real estate agent, Coldwell Banker Wachholz & Co. of Bigfork, posted "For Sale" signs on Raven Way and Red Owl Trail and informed Stokes of the listing by mail.

Stokes offered to buy the land, but the Poeschels found the offer unacceptable, they alleged in their lawsuit.

The "For Sale" signs were found torn down. Then Stokes set up the threatening signs.

The Poeschels' lawsuit contended that the threatening Nazi-themed signs scared away prospective buyers. The couple sought the permanent removal of the signs and attorney costs - citing a 1994 contract that forbids either landowner from any nuisance or offensive activity on Raven Way.

In letters and his own court filings, Stokes contended he has displayed swastikas on his property and along the access road for either seven or 13 years without objections.

In a June 27, 2007, letter to the Poeschels' attorney, Stokes wrote: "Those signs you refer to have been in place over the last 13 years. … In any event, it [a swastika] is a religious symbol and is not coming down. It is well-known I have been associated with swastikas. … I love litigation and I especially like suing attorneys."

AS A KGEZ radio host, Stokes, who owns the radio station, has referred to environmentalists as "green Nazis" and has displayed a green swastika.

Stokes and KGEZ have been in several lawsuits on financial and U.S. 93 right-of-way matters. He routinely appeals lower court decisions to the Montana Supreme Court, almost always losing. Stokes usually - but not always - acts as his own attorney.

In his court filings, Stokes stated he has received numerous death threats, and posters have been passed out with driving directions to his property "with the stated intent to burn down the residence."

In a 2007 filing, Stokes alleged that on Sept. 23, 2007, someone in front of his Raven Way residence "opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon and fired approximately 60 rounds. They immediately sped off."

In a May 2008 filing, Stokes alleged: "The plaintiffs have demonstrated and fired fully automatic illegal unregistered machine guns on the easement area. The defendant believes this was done to intimidate the defendant."

He also claimed that trees on the Poeschels' property fell and knocked out power lines to his home.

In a 2007 counterlawsuit, Stokes sought $1.4 million in damages and a $4.2 million punitive award - alleging that Coldwell Banker discriminated against him in not accepting his offer for the Poeschels' land and that Henning & Keedy - the Kalispell firm employing the Poeschels' lawyer - has a conflict of interest. He also alleged the Poeschels have no rights to Raven Way because they have not built a home on their land, which is served by the road.

In its filings, the law firm denied the conflict-of-interest charges.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office received a complaint from Stokes on Sept. 24, 2007 about the gunfire. Deputies investigated and found no shell casings or other evidence of gunfire, the department said.

On June 26, 2007, Stokes filed a complaint with the sheriff's office about unidentified people trespassing.

Meanwhile, Coldwell Banker filed two complaints in May and June 2007 about the torn-down signs.

In her filings, the Poeschels' attorney, Kay Lynn Lee, argued that Stokes' filings did not address the plaintiffs' complaints and legal issues. Also, Lee wrote that Stokes provided no dates for the power line, death threats and posters allegations.

After Christopher ruled in the Poeschels' favor on the threatening signs and attorney's fees, Stokes on June 24 filed a document in Lake County District Court that alleged the plaintiffs deliberately mailed his copies of their motions to the wrong address.

Stokes has two post-office boxes - Box 923 in Kalispell and Box 1869 in Bigfork.

For most of the litigation, copies of the plaintiff's motions were simultaneously mailed to both addresses.

But in April 4 and May 30 filings, the plaintiffs' last call for an injunction and attorney fees, plus the arguments that Stokes' counterclaims were irrelevant were mailed to Post Office Box 973 - instead of 923 - in Kalispell, and to Box 1869 in Bigfork.

In an April 29 letter to Lee, Stokes told her that the Bigfork post office box was checked only once a month, and is a "dead mailbox."

In a May 5 filing, Stokes addressed the Poeschels' April 4 filing, indicating he received it.

On June 30, Christopher wrote a letter to Stokes that said he had not followed proper legal procedures when he protested the serving of some of the plaintiff's paperwork, and encouraged him to hire an attorney.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com