An Idaho jury on Thursday found white supremacist leader Mr Richard Butler (83) negligent in letting guards at his Aryan Nations compound assault two passing motorists and ordered him to pay more than $5 million (£4.4 million) in punitive and compensatory damages.
The civil suit was brought against Mr Butler by Ms Victoria Keenan and her son Jason, who said they were beaten and shot at by two guards at the remote northern Idaho compound in 1998 after the men mistook their car's backfire for gunfire.
The action was brought on the Keenans' behalf by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as a means of destroying the Aryan Nations by forcing it into bankruptcy and off its 20-acre compound.
But Mr Butler, leader of one of the US's most virulent white supremacist groups, said that the jury's award would not ruin him. "I'm still in business and I'll remain in business until the day I die," he told reporters outside Kootenai Courthouse in Coeur d'Alene after the verdict.
"Most of northern Idaho is filled with people who don't want multi-culturalism," he said before members of a crowd outside the courthouse shouted him down and he left in a waiting car.
Three Aryan Nations associates were also ordered to pay stiff penalties. His chief of staff, Mr Michael Teague, was ordered to pay $633,000 (£560,000), security guard John Yeager $100,000 (£88,000) and guard Jesse Warfield $500,000 (£442,000).
"You can shut down the Aryan Nations but you can't shut down the white message," Mr Teague said, adding that he would appeal the jury's verdict and "stay right here in Idaho".
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated for two days in the civil case before returning their verdict. Lawyers for the Keenans had asked the jury to award $ 11.26 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Mr Bill Wassmuth, an author of anti-hate books who had watched the trial, said he was pleased with their decision. "I have a great sense of satisfaction that justice is being served," he said. "I don't know if it will run them out town but it will certainly limit their resources."
The lawsuit charged Mr Butler with recklessness in supervising his security force after a truckload of armed guards, mistaking a car backfire for a gun shot, chased and shot at the Keenans' car, ultimately forcing them into a ditch. The two said the guards hit them with a shotgun butt.
Mr Butler's lawyer argued that while his client may be a racist, he does not condone violence and that the guards were off duty when the Keenans were assaulted.
Two of the security guards, Yeager and Warfield, have already been sentenced to prison for the attack and both men said Mr Butler was not to blame.
Defence lawyer Mr Edgar Steele said Warfield and Yeager had been drinking beer, in violation of camp rules, on the night of the attack, and said Mr Butler had no control over their actions. SPLC lawyer Mr Morris Dees promised to take every asset of Mr Butler's, including the rights to the name Aryan Nations.
"For too long the Aryan Nations compound has been a haven for violent racists. I hope this verdict will change that," Mr Dees said.