Police arrested more than 30 members of a white supremacist group who were intending to riot during a pride event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Saturday. They were found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear.
Officials have revealed that the men are affiliated with Patriot Front, a hate organization formed after the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
They Came to Riot Downtown
The men were standing inside the truck wearing khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white balaclavas covering their faces when Coeur d'Alene police stopped the U-Haul and began arresting them on the side of the road, according to Daily Mail.
Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White revealed that it's clear to them they came to riot downtown based on the gear the individuals had with them ... along with paperwork that was seized from them.
All Members Charged With The Conspiracy to Riot
A concerned citizen informed the police that he had seen the U-Haul around 1:38 p.m. members of the group got into the back of the truck. The group was confronted by police about 10 minutes later. All 31 members have been charged with the conspiracy to riot.
Patriot Front members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them, and no one else. Patriot Front justifies its ideology of hate and intolerance under the guise of preserving the ethnic and cultural origins of its members' European ancestors, according to ADL.
It's claimed that the group spreads its hateful propaganda via the internet and by distributing banners, fliers, posters, and stickers.
The group in 2020 transitioned from using explicit antisemitic and white supremacist language in its propaganda to more cover bigoted language, promoting a form of "patriotism" that emboldens white supremacy, xenophobia, antisemitism, and fascism, according to ADL.
