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.
Here is the full video of the 31 Patriot Front members being taken out of the U-Haul truck in Downtown Coeur d'Alene 1 block from the Pride in the Park event, as first reported on our FB page. #NorthIdahoNews pic.twitter.com/AV0Fkuz6S2
— North Idaho News🎙️📻 (@NorthIdahoNews1) June 12, 2022
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.
Patriot front arrested. they have a uhaul filled with shields and idk what else https://t.co/c8pCyd0xGW pic.twitter.com/omQuLyPpoe
— alissa azar (@AlissaAzar) June 11, 2022
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.