The men, who were arrested Saturday after the U-Haul rental truck they were riding in overturned, are facing misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to commit riots, according to Idaho Coeur d’Alene, police chief Lee White. A local resident called authorities after spotting the group of men, all dressed in white gaiters and shields, loaded into the truck “like a small army,” White said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Police stopped the truck about 10 minutes after the call, a short distance from the “Pride in the Park” event, he said. Karlene Behringer, the administrative authority of the Kootenai county court, confirmed that the men had been released from prison and would appear in court later. During a news conference Monday, White said authorities had no prior knowledge of the group’s plans in Coeur d’Alene, an Idaho Panhandle town about 380 miles (612 km) north of the capital, Boise. “One lesson we have for our community … is that a concerned citizen can prevent something horrible from happening,” White said. The video, which was taken at the scene of the arrest and posted on the Internet, shows a group of men in custody kneeling next to the truck with their hands tied, wearing similar khaki pants, blue shirts, white masks and baseball caps. Officers guard a group of men who, according to police, are among the 31 arrested for conspiracy for riots and connected to the Patriot Front team after being found at the back of a U Haul truck near a Pride event in Coeur D. “Alene, Idaho, USA June 11, 2022 in this static image taken from a video on social media. North Country Off Grid / Youtube / via REUTERS read more Police confiscated at least one smoke grenade, a collection of shields and shin guards and documents containing a “business plan” from the truck, White said at the weekend, adding that the items made their intentions clear. “This level of preparation was not something you see every day,” he said. “It was immediately clear to us that this was a naughty team.” The men came from at least 11 states across the country, White said, including Texas, Colorado and Virginia. Since his arrest, White said, he and others in his department have received death threats. He did not give details. The Patriot Front was formed after the 2017 “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when it split from another extremist group, Vanguard America, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. Saturday’s Pride event, described by organizers as the largest ever in North Idaho, drew hundreds of people to celebrations that included a talent show and drag queen dance, local media reported. “We are in the same city we were in last week,” Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond said Monday. “We are a city that respects everyone, that welcomes everyone.” KREM-TV in Spokane reported that several smaller groups appeared to protest the rally, with dozens of people carrying guns on the sidewalk of the park, organizers said, in an attempt to intimidate LGBTQ attendees. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Joseph Ax. Editing: Daniel Wallis, Chris Reese, Nick Zieminski, Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
