Five Patriot Front Members Convicted of Conspiracy to Riot at Idaho Pride Event

On June 11, 2022, police in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho arrested 31 members of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front, including its founder, after a witness reported seeing them loading into a U-Haul van like “a little army” in a hotel parking lot.

When police pulled over the van, they found riot gear, a smoke grenade, shin guards and shields inside. The Patriot Front members were reportedly on their way to a Pride in the Park event hosted by the North Idaho Pride Alliance.

On Thursday, five of the Patriot Front members were convicted of misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot at the Pride event. Forrest Rankin, Devin Center, Derek Smith, James Michael Johnson and Robert Whitted were all found guilty after an hour of deliberation by a Kootenai County jury.

The Patriot Front is a white nationalist hate group that has been active in the United States since 2018. The group is known for its anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant rhetoric, and has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The arrests and convictions of the Patriot Front members serve as a reminder of the ongoing threat of white nationalist hate groups in the United States. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department and Kootenai County jury have taken a strong stance against the group and their hateful rhetoric.