CRAIG COBB’s plan was simple. He would quietly buy cheap land in the tiny town of Leith, North Dakota (population 19; Main Avenue, a gravel track through bare fields). Then he would invite other white supremacists to join him there. With enough like-minded citizens he would take over the town, creating an all-white enclave called “Cobbsville”. He would also rename part of his property the “Adolph [sic] Hitler Pvt. Park of Leith”.

It was not to be. Mr Cobb (pictured) was arrested on November 16th, along with Kynan Dutton, a 29-year-old supporter with a Hitler moustache, and jailed pending trial on charges of terrorising local residents. The pair were stopped while patrolling the town with shotguns, shouting obscenities. Before that, they had been painting signs on walls and flying swastika flags.

Mr Cobb’s story reflects well on the tolerant land he despises. He bought around a dozen plots of land in Leith, marking them with swastikas in trees. But his plan to build a racially pure enclave flopped, since practically no one in America supports his ideas. He only needed a handful to answer his call, but they didn’t.

As news leaked out from chat rooms, Mr Cobb became, in his own words, “one of the most famous racists in the world”. He even appeared on a popular talk show, where Trisha Goddard, a black British television personality, told him that his DNA analysis showed he was 14% sub-Saharan African. (His reaction: “Well, if I did have any nigger we don’t want any more of it.”)

The people of Leith, including its one black resident, rallied. Meetings were held, ordinances passed, a legal-defence fund set up, and the town’s website spread news about the crisis. In October Mr Cobb was removed from a council meeting for making profane and racist remarks. A local sheriff described him as “pretty drunk”.

Mr Cobb has now filed a complaint against the state’s attorney-general for making remarks intended to prevent him from practising his “religion” of “racial awareness”. He has offered to forget his complaint, and leave North Dakota, if the charges against him are dropped. This seems unlikely to happen. Mr Cobb’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for January. Until then, he will have to dream of a white Christmas behind bars.