According to authorities, over 30 members of the White supremacist group Patriot Front were arrested near an Idaho pride event. The group was reportedly found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear.
The men were seen standing inside the truck, dressed in khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats. They also had white balaclavas covering their faces. Coeur d’Alene police stopped the U-Haul and arrested them.
Coeur d´Alene Police Chief Lee White claimed that the group “came to riot downtown.”p, including Thomas Rousseau, were arrested in Idaho on Saturday before they could carry out plans to riot at a local Pride event.
As a member of his high school newspaper, Thomas Rousseau began to reveal his support for white supremacy. This helped him quickly rise to the top of the racist right, first with Vanguard America and then with the formation of the Patriot Front.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Patriot Front as “a white nationalist hate group” that split off from another far-right group following the tragic Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Is Thomas Rousseau Arrested In Coeur d’Alene?
According to Lee White, the chief of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, the police detained and charged 31 people who belonged to a far-right group known as Patriot Front after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen.
All the men were charged with the misdemeanor of conspiracy to riot. Police reportedly received information from residents who said they spotted a “little army” getting inside the vehicle around 1.38 pm.
The men who were arrested came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas. Only one of them was from Idaho, White said.
Thomas Rousseau, the founder of Patriot Front, was among those arrested on criminal conspiracy charges, according to Kootenai County jail records.
According to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, a person reported seeing a group of people hop into a U-Haul van near the junction of Northwest Boulevard and Interstate 90 in Coeur d’Alene.
The North Idaho Pride Alliance was conducting its annual “Pride in the Park” celebration at Coeur d’Alene City Park, just a few miles away.
White confirmed that the men are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, June 13. Authorities found that the group was planning to riot not only in the park but in many other areas of downtown.
Videos posted on social media show the group being arrested, with the men kneeling on the grass with their hands zip-tied behind their backs. One of them had “Reclaim America” written on his back.
Both right-wing & #Antifa members went to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho today in response to the LGBTQIA+ Pride event. Far-right group Patriot Front was arrested. Violent Portland Antifa member Alissa Azar, who has a pending felony case, filmed this clip.pic.twitter.com/3cIvsqdZVu
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 12, 2022
Who Is Thomas Rousseau founder Patriot Front?
Patriot Front, an American white supremacist, neo-fascist, and American nationalist hate group, was formed by Thomas Ryan Rousseau, a young man from Dallas, Texas. The group was formed back in 2017 and utilizes imagery of patriotism, liberty, and other traditional American values to promote its ideology.
Thomas reportedly grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, where he attended Coppell High School. At the time he was enrolled, Thomas was part of ‘The Sidekick’, the school student newspaper. He was the staff cartoonist during his senior year. He also contributed to video production and is known for writing various opinion columns for the paper.
Thomas was an ardent supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 election. He wrote in an October 26, 2016 column, “Trump’s campaign is about more than just the election of who is president. It is a referendum on American democracy. A simple decision between who is really in control of this nation, a corrupt establishment with wishes to usurp democracy or the American people.”.
During his time at Coppell High School, he was a member of The Sidekick, the student newspaper, where he was the staff cartoonist during his senior year.
He also helped with video production and contributed to the paper’s comment pieces. This appears to be where the young white supremacist honed the propaganda-making talents that catapulted his swift rise to the top of the racist right, first with Vanguard America and then with the formation of the Patriot Front.
Rousseau routinely penned opinion letters supporting conservative causes while working for his high school newspaper, including Texas’ contentious “campus carry” law and North Carolina’s now-gutted “bathroom bill.” During the 2016 election, he was also a staunch backer of Donald Trump.
Patriot Front recruits online, and on college campuses with flyers, and conducts flash protests. It has committed acts of vandalism on certain occasions.
The group has techniques such as setting off smoke bombs during demonstrations, and chanting slogans like “Reclaim America”, “Life, Liberty, Victory”, “Victory or Death” and “Strong Borders, Strong Nations”. Patriot Front was once known as Vanguard America. However, it changed its name after a man from the group murdered a woman at the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
Thomas Rousseau Charges- Is He Sentenced Jail?
According to Chief White, those arrested were wearing khaki pants, arm patches, and caps with Patriot Front emblems. Men are shown on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs in videos circulating on social media. Many of the males are wearing blue shirts and are disguised.
According to authorities, the suspects were caught in Idaho after traveling from Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia. According to the investigators, at least one of the members resided in Idaho.
Patriot Front routinely engages in “flash protests,” which are intended to generate viral video footage and in which members typically wear masks and “khaki slacks and a blue or white polo shirt,” as well as smoke bombs, according to the A.D.L.