The people that made "Welcome to Leith" did a nice job of presenting a reasonably well balanced and interesting story. While they obviously didn't like the white supremacists featured in the film, they also were sure to present the complete story...warts and all.The town of Leith is extremely tiny and located in the Dakotas. When a crazed white supremacist arrives there and starts buying up property, folks start getting concerned. When he then starts inviting in other like-minded jerks, the town starts to react...strongly. What follows is a film that consists of showing the tiny town's efforts to get rid of the supremacists and prevent them from taking over Leith. Unfortunately, when the neo-Nazis actually do something that might be illegal, some of the townsfolks manage to undo the state's case by talking out of turn...and some of these people later blame the state for the case falling apart. However, the way I saw the film I don't believe the authorities LEGALLY had much more they could do about the supremacists...and the film leaves everything in limbo. This could REALLY benefit from a follow-up to know what subsequently occurred.As I mentioned, the people who made the film were great--they were very thorough and did a wonderful job in presenting both sides. It's not 100% satisfying to watch, however, for two reasons. First, in real life things often DON'T work out perfectly...as the film illustrates. And, Second, despite 99.9% of the viewers wanting to see these neo-Nazis die or go to prison forever, legally this wasn't possible due to Constitutionally guaranteed rights...even the right to be an evil, nasty, hateful individual! To me this isn't a bad thing...everyone deserves protection--whether or not they are nice people...though I am sure many will be angered by this. Despite its shortcomings, it does make for an interesting documentary as well as a great civics lesson.

Leith, North Dakota, is a small town. It is the very upper curve on the dot of the 'i' in the middle of nowhere. With a population of less than thirty individuals, it nevertheless prided itself on its small and isolated nature. That all changed when white supremacist chat board demagogue Craig Cobb moved into the neighborhood, and suddenly the small town was the focus of national attention, as Cobb declared his intention to turn Leith into a haven for the white supremacist movement, to live in a place where the "purity" of the white race wouldn't be uninterrupted by society at large. Taking advantage of cheap land prices and the town's small government, Cobb ultimately intended to take over the town completely Ultimately, Cobb's dreams of creating a white supremacist promised land fell through, for the same reasons that have plagued the white pride, hate group movement since its inception. Violent rhetoric, preached without subtlety and ultimately self-destructing in a pointless show of force. In total, the grand vision of a white-supremacist utopia amounted to Cobb, a fellow white supremacist and his family, and three others who, at the time of writing, have shown little interest in picking up where Cobb left off. Cobb and his cohort were arrested and forced out of the town.But when Cobb had made his intentions known, the media--as the media is wont to do--took off with it, declaring it a battle over the soul of a tiny slice of America. A battle of good versus evil, akin to a real life Western, with the outlaws trading in black hats for shaved heads. And this is the mistake made by "Welcome to Leith", as this view of good versus evil overshadows a much more important series of questions raised by the events portrayed in the story: At what point does society at large infringe on the rights of the individual to express their viewpoints, their lifestyles and how far can they go to oppose them?A disclaimer: by no means do I support the White Nationalist movement, or whatever other monikers and labels they use to disguise their true, hate-filled intentions. These men have violent intent that can only be described as evil and repulsive. Their views and methods have been the force behind some of the greatest tragedies of the last century. But it is important to note that under our system of freedom of speech and freedom of self-expression, they have every right to express these viewpoints, so long as they do not engage or plot violence and harm. And while it is indeed true that this is exactly what Cobb and his followers have espoused, nevertheless, we also see some rather underhanded deeds committed by those opposed to the invading white supremacists.Although it is hard to blame them for their actions, the citizens of Leith nevertheless did engage in campaigns of harassment against Cobb and his followers, vandalizing their property, denying them services, ultimately culminating in a town ordinance being passed that was transparently intended to be solely for the purposes of kicking Cobb out of town. While it is difficult to feel sympathetic towards these particular lifestyle practitioners, it is important to bear in mind that this same action could have been taken against anyone with a viewpoint or lifestyle that clashed with that of the town at large. It isn't difficult to imagine Muslims, Jews, homosexuals, or any other cultural or racial minority receiving similar treatment in the place of Craig Cobb and his white supremacists. Treatment that, in Leith at least, now has legal precedent.This is not to say that the citizens of Leith would engage in such behavior. Indeed, it would appear that Leith is a town that welcomes viewpoints of cultural diversity. Yet the lengths at which the town went to remove this element that they detested, supported at large by society due to the controversial viewpoints of the ones they targeted, is an important question to address. One that, ultimately, the film seems to hint at, then promptly ignore in the face of documenting the ensuing, spectacular fall of the white supremacist movement in Leith, North Dakota.Ultimately, "Welcome to Leith" merely documents a moment in time, hinting at greater, more thought-provoking questions, but does not seem to want to focus on them. Instead, it focuses on the same sensational viewpoint taken by the media at large. The good people of Leith won out over the forces of evil, we have our happy ending. For "Welcome to Leith", that is all that we ultimately get.

@davannacarter <-- posted a review that is incredulous.The story about Leith ND is captivating, riveting, and true. It isn't trivialized by the number of people in a small town.In fact, it is more impactful that the Neo-Nazis chose such a small town as a target. Predators prey on the weak.Hitler and the 3rd Reich didn't start with an empire, they built one on fear.This movie carefully exposes the narrative with each interview and each scene. Nothing appears to be 'over produced' or fake. You can feel the fear and terror the citizens felt toward the encroachment of fascism. They spoke up, fought back, and won.Give this documentary a chance to show you a perspective on Neo-Fascism.

This is a feature length documentary filmed in the small North Dakota town of Leith. When I say small I mean there were only 24 inhabitants and one bar. It is the sort of place with dirt roads a slow way of life and a sense of community.They like to welcome new comers and then one day Craig Cobb moved in and started buying up lots. The recent oil boom in the area had made real estate suddenly more valuable. Cobb though is one of the top (if that is the right word) white supremacists in the USA and probably the world. He and his followers (seemingly recruited in a trailer park sale) decided they would move in enough of his anti Semite and racist mates to be able to take over the town council – through democracy obviously – and then the town would be theirs etc.This is filmed over a period which saw things coming to a head. It is not an action fest of bad stuff happening but it is alarming at how this could happen. He had flags of all the white countries and this includes the Union Flag (Jack) with a ruddy great swastika stuck in the middle of it. The man has nothing going for him and best bud Kynan Dutton was equally as vile. This is not a show stopper but it is eminently watchable and tells its story in as balanced a way as it probably could have. There is a lot of profanity and offensive language but it only exemplifies the level of feeling that such people provoke in others. If you are a documentary fan then this is well worth a watch.