Police seized a plethora of riot gear and documents that clarified the group’s intentions to disrupt the North Idaho Pride Alliance’s “Pride in the Park” event.
A large group of men with shields and riot gear headed to an Idaho pride event on Saturday were arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot, according to CNN and the New York Times.
Large-scale arrest
Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White explained that local authorities pulled over a U-Haul rental truck after receiving a tip from a local resident reporting the group filing into the truck “like a little army.”
Police seized a plethora of riot gear and documents that clarified the group’s intentions to disrupt the North Idaho Pride Alliance’s “Pride in the Park” event.
The 31 individuals who were arrested were, per the Times, members of Patriot Front, a Texas-based white supremacist group founded after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
“That level of preparation was not something you see everyday. It was clear to us immediately that this was a riotous group.”
Coeur dAlene Police Chief Lee White
Where did they come from?
None of the group members were local to the area, reported CNN citing Idaho Mayor Jim Hammond and a booking summary from the County Sherriff’s office. Of the 31, only two were from the state of Idaho.
“One lesson we have for our community … is one concerned citizen can prevent something horrible from happening,” White said.