Patriot Front members charged with plotting riot

Thirty-one men from 12 different states loaded into a U-Haul at a local hotel Saturday in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, wearing masks, shin guards, and clothing identifying them as members of Patriot Front. A 911 caller notified authorities, who responded with two SWAT teams. Police found no firearms but did find one smoke grenade. Prosecutors charged the men with conspiracy to riot, which is a misdemeanor. They were arraigned in court Monday.

What is Patriot Front? The group split from another white supremacist group, Vanguard America, in 2017 after one of its members, James Alex Fields Jr., drove a vehicle into a group of counterprotesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Va. One woman died, and more than 30 others were injured. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Patriot Front members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and have passed it down to them alone. The group’s leader, 24-year-old Thomas Ryan Rousseau, was among those arrested in Idaho.

Dig Deeper: Read Maryrose Delahunty’s piece on an Ohio tattoo artist looking to counteract hate through ink.