Idaho cops successfully foiled what could’ve been a repeat of Charlottesville by pulling over a U-Haul truck filled with 31 members of a white supremacist group near a Pride event.
The group is called Patriot Front — you probably first heard of them during the deadly Charlottesville protests in 2017 — and on Saturday, nearly 3 dozen of their members were packed into the back of the truck.
Police believe the men — many wearing white supremacy insignias, face coverings and shirts that said “reclaim America” — were planning to riot and go head-to-head with people participating in the “Pride in the Park” event.
The city’s police chief says someone spotted the group loading into the U-Haul at a nearby hotel, and tipped off police. Ten minutes later, heavily armed officers pulled over the truck and arrested the group without incident.
Cops say the group had riot gear, such as shields, and at least one smoke grenade.
The group’s leader, Thomas Ryan Rousseau, was arrested for criminal conspiracy to riot. He and others were being held on $300 bail.
As for why cops were able to respond so quickly … the chief said they were aware of online threats that had been made leading up to the Pride event, and had increased police presence in the area.
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