The group, responsible for more than 80 percent of white supremacist propaganda, was formed by Rousseau in the aftermath of the 2017 white nationalist 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, breaking off from another extremist group, Vanguard America, which was also founded by then teen in 2015. The Patriot Front was founded in 2017 by Rousseau, who grew up in the suburbs of Dallas to emerge as the leading figures of the white nationalist right. Video taken at the scene of the arrest and posted online showed a group of men in police custody, kneeling next to the truck with their hands bound, wearing matching military garb, consisting of khaki pants, blue shirts, white masks, and baseball caps. It was not immediately clear if any of the group had any firearms. The men had come from at least 11 states across the country for the planned procession, police said, from states such as Texas, Colorado, and Virginia. Wagner, 24, of Florissant, Missouri, who was previously charged with defacing a mural of famous black Americans on a college campus in St. He said: 'Even if you don't like the speech, they have the right to make it.'Īlso among the arrestees was Mitchell F. However, a lawyer representing some of the alleged white supremacists has since attested that the charges to leveled against the members - a Class F felony punishable with up to five years in prison - are in violation of their First Amendment rights, citing that they do not have a reputation for violence and that Americans are allowed the right to protest. Police officers seized at least one smoke grenade, a collection of several shields and shin guards, and documents that included an 'operations plan' from the group, found by officers in the U-haul.Ĭoeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White told reporters Saturday that the contents of the document, without going into specific detail, made the group's intentions 'clear.' Speaking to police, the witness said the group looked 'like a little army'. The group was reportedly busted after police received a tip from a local resident who called cops after spotting the group of men, donning white masks and carrying shields, load themselves into the vehicle. Police said the group had been plotting to incite chaos at a pride event about 10 minutes from where the arrested, called 'Pride in the Park' event in Coeur d'Alene City Park. The men, who had been packed in a rented UHaul truck wearing riot gear before being pulled over in Coeur d'Alene, are expected to appear in court in local Kootenai County later Monday.įootage of the large-scale arrest shows the dozens of men, masked and wearing shirts that bore the message 'reclaim American,' kneeling in cuffs in a field in the Idaho Panhandle city about 380 miles north of the capital, Boise. Thomas Ryan Rousseau, 23, of Grapevine, Texas, was among those facing felony charges of criminal conspiracy after dozens of members of the white nationalist group, known as the Patriot Front, were arrested in northwest Idaho Saturday.
The alleged founder of a white supremacist group and 30 other members who were arrested for planning a riot at Idaho Pride have been pictured. Thomas Ryan Rousseau, 23, of Grapevine, Texas, was among those facing felony charges of criminal conspiracy after dozens of members of the white nationalist group, known as the Patriot Front, were arrested in northwest Idaho Saturday