COEUR D’ALENE (Idaho aEUR”) Law enforcement arrested 31 members a white nationalist group known as the Patriot Front, near a Pride event. They were charged with conspiracy to riot. They were taken into a U-Haul truck, and then detained at a public park.
They were expected to appear Monday in court on the misdemeanor count.
“It is evident to us based upon the gear that they had with them and the stuff they had in the U-Haul together with the paperwork that was seized, that they came down to riot downtown,” stated Chief Lee White of Coeur d’Alene police.
White said that authorities were alerted by White to the incident after White reported seeing around 20 men in masks and shields jump into a UHaul truck at a hotel parking garage.
White stated that at least one smoke grenade was found in the truck and that paperwork appeared to indicate a master plan for rioting at both the Pride event as well as along the main commercial strip of downtown Coeur d’Alene. White credited the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department as well as the Idaho State Police, FBI, and FBI for their assistance in the operation.
These developments capped a day filled with tension over competing events on the Coeur d’Alene lakefront. Pride in the Park was celebrating its first and largest in person event since the outbreak of the pandemic.
A mile away, an antiLGBTQ group met to pray the Catholic Rosary. It was led by a self-identifying Christian Nationalist, and was attended by white nationalist America First affiliates. A motorcycle riding club encouraged its members and their allies to come together with firearms to protest the Pride gathering. Idaho doesn’t require permits or licenses to openly carry firearms.
The Pride event was aEUR”, where children made chalk art and blew bubbles under a covered pavilion. AEUR” opposition was visible on the stage. Many men walked among the crowd with long guns and handguns. A conservative Christian group gathered at a nearby picnic table and sang religious songs. A group of men with long guns and pistols, including one with one, raised a banner that promoted a false narrative about children being hurt. This has been a common theme among far-right groups and movements against LGBTQ persons.
Idaho is my home. Shanell Huggins (32), said that although she never wanted to move, the pressures of being in Idaho are making her question her decision. Huggins was there as a supporter with her husband, but she expressed deep concern about the intense, sometimes frightening, pressure campaign the LGBTQ community endured in the weeks before the event.
Despite the volatile brew, most people were not able to experience their worst fears. Police had only arrested two people before the Patriot Front sweep. They had both brought sound amplifiers to protest Pride activities. One was arrested for disorderly behavior, the other for trespassing. White claimed that both were Oregonian.
“Law enforcement really came through this day, and I think that this is a really significant message and also healing message that’s needed throughout this country,” stated Jessica Mahuron (outreach director at North Idaho Pride Alliance), who organized the event. “I know that many law enforcement officers had to delay their vacations, and this was stressful for everyone throughout the city.”
According to White, police found riot gear inside the van. He said that they wore logos and arm patches on their hats, which identified them as Patriot Front members.
White stated that the arrestees were from at least 10 different states: Arkansas, Colorado. Illinois, Oregon. South Dakota. Texas. Utah. Washington. Wyoming. Only one of the arrested was from Idaho.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Patriot Front as “a white nationist hate group” which was formed following the tragic “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
The Southern Poverty Law Center stated that Patriot Front is a theater-based group, which can easily be used as propaganda for its chapters throughout the country.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group’s manifesto called for the creation of a white ethnostate in America.
