Who Is ‘Patriot Front'; The Rioters Detained in Northern Idaho

The news struck over the weekend that a massive response by police in Northern Idaho was taking place around an annual pride event in Coeur d'Alene. Just the fact that we were hearing all of this at once was enough to scare the public--luckily, however, Idaho authorities were able to stop any sort of trouble from happening.

After a press conference with officials, the public learned that had it not been for one VERY aware citizen who called in the U-Haul truck as it was being loaded up with suspicious looking men. Thankfully, the police took it as serious as possible.

So what is the story with the group of rioters? They belong to a white nationalist group that is called the 'Patriot Front" and according to just about every anti-discrimination organization in the country, they're labeled as a "Hate Group".

Their top leader was among those arrested in Coeur d'Alene and according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group broke off of "Vanguard America" after the deadly 2017 riot in Charlottesville.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Patriot Front is an image-obsessed organization that rehabilitated the explicitly fascist agenda of Vanguard America with garish patriotism. Patriot Front focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country.

All across Idaho, we are thankful for the police that responded to this high-risk situation. Obviously, they had no idea what they were walking into and it had all of the potential to go sideways.