After being discovered on Saturday in the back of a U-Haul truck carrying riot gear near an Idaho pride event, 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front were apprehended and taken into custody by authorities.
When police in Coeur d’Alene attempted to stop the U-Haul, men wearing beige caps and navy blue shirts were standing inside of it. The officers then began making arrests of the men on the side of the road.
During a press conference, Chief of Police Lee White of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department declared that “they came to riot downtown.”
White asserted that all 31 individuals were charged with conspiracy to riot, which is a lesser offense than rioting itself. The two people who are suspected of carrying out the crime had an arrest warrant issued for them on Saturday afternoon, and they are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
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According to White, investigators discovered that the group had plans to riot outside the park based on evidence and documents taken from the suspects’ residences. These plans were revealed after the investigators discovered that the group had planned to protest beyond the park.
According to White, the contents of the van were searched, and they turned up a smoke grenade, shin guards, and shields. According to him, Patriot Front cap logos and insignia identified them as members of the organization.
In the parking area of a hotel, according to White, an informant reported to the authorities that “it felt like a little army was piling up onto the truck.” He stated that the authorities had located the truck and taken it into custody not long after.
As they were being taken into custody, witnesses reported seeing them kneeling in the grass with their hands clasped behind their backs.
The phrase “Reclaim America” was printed on the back of one of the shirts.
They brought the men one at a time to the front of the patrol cars, where they removed their masks. After that, they led the men to a van that was provided by the police.
According to White, those that were taken into custody hailed from a minimum of 11 different states, some of which include Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, and Arkansas.
He stated that only one was from the state of Idaho.
The truck was left parked close to the area where the Coeur d’Alene Pride in the Park event was being held by the North Idaho Pride Alliance. During the event, there was a greater presence of law enforcement officers in the area.
The sheriff of Kootenai County, Idaho, Bob Norris, was quoted as saying to a journalist working for the Coeur d’Alene Press, “it looks like these people did not come here to join in peaceful events.”
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front came into being in the wake of the deadly ‘Unite the Right rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia in the year 2017.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Patriot Front engages in “theatrical statements and activities that may be easily circulated as propaganda for its chapters around the country.”
One of the people who were brought into custody on Saturday night was a man by the name of Thomas Ryan Rousseau. Rousseau is the son of the person who founded Patriot Front in Dallas.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group’s manifesto supports the establishment of a white ethnostate inside the borders of the United States.
