The 31 members of the Patriot Front were arrested with riot gear after a tipster reported seeing people loading on a U-Haul as “a small army” in a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police said. Among those sentenced to prison for misdemeanor conspiracy to commit riots was Thomas Ryan Rousseau of Grapevine, Texas, who has been recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the 23-year-old who founded the group after the deadly “Unite the Right.” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. No lawyer was immediately named and phone numbers related to him went unanswered on Sunday. Among those arrested was Mitchell F. Wagner, 24, of Florissant, Missouri, who had previously been accused of distorting a mural of a famous black American on a St. Louis campus last year. Wagner’s lawyer, Michael Kielti, said Sunday that he had not been informed of the charges. He said the Patriot Front had no reputation for violence and that the case could be the subject of a First Amendment. “Even if you do not like the speech, they have the right to do it,” he said. The Patriot Front is a white neo-Nazi supremacist group whose members perceive Black Americans, Jews and LGBTQs as enemies, said Jon Lewis, a George Washington University researcher who specializes in violent extremism. Their book, Lewis said, includes identifying local grievances for exploitation, organizing on platforms such as the Telegram messaging app, and finally appearing at events that parade in neat columns, in blue or white collar suits, in a show of strength. Although Pride celebrations have long been greeted by anti-religious protesters, they have historically not been the focus of armed extremist groups. However, it is not surprising, given how anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is becoming increasingly a loud cry in the far-right internet ecosystem, Lewis said. “This set of complaints fits into their broader narratives and shows their ability to mobilize the same people against the ‘enemy’ over and over and over again,” he said. The arrests come amid a wave of rhetoric about LGBTQ issues and a wave of state legislation targeting trans young people, said John McCrosty, the first openly gay man to be elected to the Idaho legislature. In Boise this week, dozens of Pride flags were stolen from the city streets. “Whenever we are faced with hate attacks, we must respond with a message from the community that we embrace all people with all our differences,” McCrosty said in a text message. Sunday also marked the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando’s LGBTQ Pulse, Troy Williams told Equality Utah in Salt Lake City. “Our nation is becoming more and more polarized and the result has been tragic and deadly,” he said. At Coeur D’Alene on Saturday, police found riot equipment, a grenade of tobacco, tibial protectors and shields inside the truck after pulling it near a park where North Idaho Pride Alliance organized Pride in the Park, Coeur D’Alene. Police Chief Lee White. The group rallied around the small northern Idaho town wearing Patriot Front patches and logos on their hats and some T-shirts that read “Reclaim America” according to police and videos of the arrests were posted on social media. The detainees came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia and Arkansas. Although there is a history of far-right extremism dating back decades in northern Idaho, White said only one of those arrested Saturday was from the state. The six-hour Pride event generally went as planned, with kiosks, food, live music, a drag show and a march of more than 50 people, the Idaho Statesman reported. “We have been through so much,” Jessica Mahuron of the North Idaho Pride Alliance, which hosted the event, told KREM-TV. “The harassment and intimidation efforts on a psychological level, and the truth is that if you allow yourself to be intimidated, you let them win and what we have shown today is that you will not win.” The team is scheduled to stand trial on Monday. __ Whitehurst and Metz reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press author Martha Bellisle contributed to this report.
