Idaho jury finds 5 from white nationalist group guilty of criminal conspiracy to riot at Pride event

Source: Associated Press

Idaho jury finds 5 from white nationalist group guilty of criminal conspiracy to riot at Pride event

Published 10:53 PM EDT, July 20, 2023

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Five members of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front were convicted Thursday of misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot at a Pride event.

A Kootenai County jury found Forrest Rankin, Devin Center, Derek Smith, James Michael Johnson and Robert Whitted guilty after about an hour of deliberation, news outlets reported.

A total of 31 Patriot Front members, including one identified as its founder, were arrested June 11, 2022, after someone reported seeing people loading into a U-Haul van like “a little army” at a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene, police have said.

Police found riot gear, a smoke grenade, shin guards and shields inside the van after pulling it over near where the North Idaho Pride Alliance was holding a Pride in the Park event, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White has said.

Documents found with the group reportedly outlined a plan to form a column outside City Park and proceed inward, ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/patriot-front-idaho-riot-charges-guilty-886b62b9b974787b994ab2569dee05ae