Former right-wing radio host John Stokes, 71, was found dead in his home near Ferndale on Dec. 28 after neighbors noticed mail piling up and asked for a welfare check.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said in a media release Wednesday that his office received a call requesting a welfare check at a residence in Ferndale at around 1 p.m. on Dec. 28. Responding deputies investigated and determined the homeowner was deceased and that there had been a fire in the home. Authorities identified the man as Stokes, the release stated.

Lake County officials determined that the fire was contained to one room of the home where Stokes was found. A preliminary investigation identified the fire and death occurred sometime in the morning hours of Dec. 13. Consultation with the state fire marshal and state medical examiner indicated the fire was accidental and caused the death of Stokes.

Family member Kathy Stokes said she and other siblings grew concerned about their brother’s well being when his frequent online posting stopped around Dec. 13.

Stokes was a controversial figure and his right-wing radio station KGEZ was once described in a 2002 L.A. Times article as “talk radio for people who think Rush Limbaugh has gone soft.”

His station was often criticized for anti-semitic and anti-environmentalist comments. The Bigfork Eagle reported in 2009 that Stokes had come under fire for hosting a rally alongside U.S. 93 where green swastikas were burned. Stokes often called environmentalists “green Nazis.”

In a 2008 defamation case, a Flathead District Court jury ordered the talk-show host to pay $3.8 million to Davar and Todd Gardner for malicious false accusations made on his show.

The defamation trial was a spin-off from a 2001-2005 legal dispute between Stokes and the Gardners. KGEZ had two radio towers on 32 acres of easements on a 160-acre site, of which the Gardners owned a segment.

Stokes had claimed his easements essentially gave him an ownership right over the entire 160 acres. The Gardners disputed that in court, and won in 2005. Stokes criticized and accused the Gardners of wrongdoing for almost eight years during his morning talk radio show.

The radio station was confiscated from Stokes in 2009 due to millions in unpaid debt and taxes.