On Saturday (June 11), at least 31 masked Neo-Nazi white supremacists were arrested near a pride event going down in Idaho. All 31 were charged with conspiracy to riot, which is a misdemeanor.
Police in Idaho say the group of members are affiliated with the nationalist group called Patriot Front. Police say the suspects traveled from at least 11 states, and they were seen traveling together in a U-Haul truck, gathering near a pride event in the city of Coeur d’Alene.
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31 Masked Neo-Nazi White Supremacists Arrested Near Pride Event In Idaho
Of the 31 arrested, the only one to be identified was Patriot Front leader Thomas Ryan Rousseau, according to Sgt. Shane Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. Rousseau has since bonded out of the Kootenai County Jail. The others have yet to be identified individually.
Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said, “It is clear to us based on the gear that the individuals had with them, the stuff they had in their possession, the U-Haul with them along with paperwork that was seized from them, that they came to riot downtown.”
Meanwhile, the FBI has joined forces with local police and will be assisting them in their investigation. FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Yi Barker said that Coeur d’Alene police the lead law enforcement agency to investigate the matter.
In clips and images of the arrest, those who were busted were all wearing similar clothing associated with their group, Patriot Front. Police in Coeur d’Alene also say that there was at least one smoke grenade in the groups possession.
Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White also said that the group was equipped with “shields, shin guards and other riot gear with them.” He also said that the group carried papers with them, describing them as “similar to an operations plan that a police or military group would put together for an event.”
Reports say that Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White claimed the investigation in Coeur d’Alene began after a concerned citizen called into police that they saw “approximately 20 people jump into a U-Haul. They had shields and looked like a little army.”
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31 Masked Neo-Nazi White Supremacists Arrested Belong To Patriot Front Group
Now, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Patriot Front has been deemed a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and left it to them to defend.
It’s also reported that Patriot Front is a new group that split from another white supremacist group called Vanguard America in August 2017.
Also according to the ADL, Patriot Front leader Thomas Ryan Rousseau has led several dozen members of Vanguard America Texas during the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.
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