The group headed to a “Pride in the Park” event, police said. The event took place in Coeur d’Alene city park on Saturday and included a Pride walk and performances by local musicians, dancers and drag artists. Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond said in a statement that “hatred and violence have no place” in the city. All 31 were out of the area, Hammond said. At least one of those arrested is from Idaho, investigators said. The North Idaho Pride Alliance, which hosted the event, issued a statement on Sunday, saying: Pride in the celebration of the community of the Park under the most difficult conditions “. “We are deeply grateful to the law enforcement agencies that were present and responded professionally throughout the day to keep our community safe,” the organization said. Here’s what we know about the arrests and relationships of the people involved.
Police report a group dressed as a “small army”
There was a great police presence at the Saturday Pride event, after authorities received information in the last two days that there were a number of teams planning to disrupt today’s activities, “White said on Saturday, though it is not clear if the police knew him. Patriot. The obvious designs of the Front. Authorities received a call from an interested citizen at 1:38 a.m. Saturday to report that “about 20 people jumped into a U-Haul” in the parking lot of a local hotel, White said. The caller said the group was equipped with shields and masks and “looked like a small army,” according to White. About ten minutes after receiving the call, police stopped traffic at U-Haul and arrested 31 people, White said. All 31 were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime which is a misdemeanor, he said. The members of the group were dressed similarly in khaki pants and blue shirts and wore hats with plastic inside them, according to the leader and video from the scene of the arrest. The men were also equipped with “shields, shin guards and other riot gear,” along with documents that White described as “similar to a business plan that a police or military team would draw up for an event.” Police also found at least one smoke grenade. “It is clear to us, based on the equipment that the people had with them, the things they had in their possession and the U-Haul with the papers that were confiscated from them, that they came to riot in the city center,” White said. . he said. Officers from the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene with two SWAT teams, White said. “I do not think this would have been so successful if we did not have an extremely resourceful citizen who saw something that bothered him a lot and told us about it,” he said. All 31 men have been released on bail, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. They will return to court at a later date. The individuals came from at least a dozen states, including Idaho, Alabama, Oregon, Michigan and Texas, the sheriff’s office said. Coeur d’Alene police are leading an investigation into those arrested and assisted by the FBI, according to FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Yi Barker. At least two other people were arrested Saturday in connection with the Pride event and charged separately with disorderly conduct and misconduct, police said.
Men linked to the white nationalist group, police say
In addition to Patriot Front-related clothing, most of the men arrested had logos on their “Patriot Front” hats, and some wore patches on the organization-related hands, according to White. Members of the Patriot Front believe that their white ancestors conquered America and “bequeathed it to them,” according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL says Patriot Front members support fascist and anti-Semitic beliefs, which they propagate through online and real propaganda campaigns. The Texas-based team was formed after the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when members of the existing white supremacist group Vanguard America split up to form their own organization, says the ADL. Among those arrested Saturday was Patriotic Front leader Thomas Ryan Rousseau, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Captain. Shane Moline. According to the ADL, Rousseau drove several dozen Vanguard America Texas members during the “Unite the Right” rally and will soon lead the split of a group of VA members to form the Patriot Front. CNN appealed to Rousseau’s legal representation, but received no immediate response. CNN’s Andy Rose and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
