Texas-based hate group was behind attempted riot at Pride event in Idaho, authorities say

by Jaden Edison, Texas Tribune


Authorities say the 31 people accused of trying to start a riot at an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Idaho this weekend belong to an extremist group based in Texas.

The suspects were released on bond after being charged with conspiracy to riot. Police say all of them belong to Patriot Front, a white supremacist organization headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The suspects include eight people from Texas, whom police identified as Thomas Rousseau, 23, of Grapevine; Robert Whitted, 22, of Conroe; Tommy Walker Jr., 24, of Godley; Josiah Buster, 24, and Connor Moran, 23, of Watauga; and Kieran Morris, 27, Steven Tucker, 30, and Graham Whitsom, 31, of Haslet.

The Coeur d’Alene City Police Department said on Saturday they responded to a call about “a little army” of people with masks and shields getting into a U-Haul van near the Pride event. Law enforcement said they also found at least one smoke grenade in the vehicle.

“I think some of us were a bit surprised by not only the level of preparation that we saw but the equipment that was carried and worn by those individuals along with the large amount of equipment that was left in the van when the stop happened,” Lee White, the department’s police chief, said at a Monday press conference. “That level of preparation is not something you see every day.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/13/idaho-pride-riot-texas/