Who is Thomas Ryan Rousseau? Reported Patriot Front founder nowhere to be seen after Idaho arrests
COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO: Over 30 members of the White supremacist group Patriot Front were arrested near an Idaho pride event. The group was reportedly found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear. The men were seen standing inside the truck, dressed in khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats. They also had white balaclavas covering their faces. Coeur d'Alene police stopped the U-Haul and arrested them. Coeur d´Alene Police Chief Lee White claimed that the group "came to riot downtown."
All the men were charged with the misdemeanor of conspiracy to riot. Police reportedly received information from residents who said they spotted a "little army" getting inside the vehicle around 1.38 pm. The men who were arrested came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas. Only one of them was from Idaho, White said.
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White confirmed that the men are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, June 13. Authorities found that the group was planning to riot not only in the park but in many other areas of downtown. Videos posted on social media show the group being arrested, with the men kneeling on the grass with their hands zip-tied behind their backs. One of them had "Reclaim America" written on his back.
Both right-wing & #Antifa members went to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho today in response to the LGBTQIA+ Pride event. Far-right group Patriot Front was arrested. Violent Portland Antifa member Alissa Azar, who has a pending felony case, filmed this clip.pic.twitter.com/3cIvsqdZVu
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 12, 2022
The men's vehicle was reportedly stopped by police on Northwest Boulevard near Paul Bunyan. Cops found at least one smoke grenade and riot gear. They also recovered from the truck shields and shin guards, and documents that included an "operations plan". Patches and logos that the men wore identified them as members of the Patriot Front.
Who founded Patriot Front?
Patriot Front, an American white supremacist, neo-fascist, and American nationalist hate group, was formed by Thomas Ryan Rousseau, a young man from Dallas, Texas. The group was formed back in 2017 and utilizes imagery of patriotism, liberty, and other traditional American values to promote its ideology.
Thomas reportedly grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, where he attended Coppell High School. At the time he was enrolled, Thomas was part of 'The Sidekick', the school student newspaper. He was the staff cartoonist during his senior year. He also contributed to video production and is known for writing various opinion columns for the paper.
Thomas was an ardent supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 election. He wrote in an October 26, 2016 column, "Trump’s campaign is about more than just the election of who is president. It is a referendum on American democracy. A simple decision between who is really in control of this nation, a corrupt establishment with wishes to usurp democracy or the American people.”
Patriot Front recruits online, and on college campuses with flyers, and conducts flash protests. It has committed acts of vandalism on certain occasions. The group has techniques such as setting off smoke bombs during demonstrations, and chanting slogans like "Reclaim America", "Life, Liberty, Victory", "Victory or Death" and "Strong Borders, Strong Nations". Patriot Front was once known as Vanguard America. However, it changed its name after a man from the group murdered a woman at the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
The group had once published a manifesto, which read, in parts, "Those of foreign birth may occupy civil status within the lands occupied by the state, and they may even be dutiful citizens, yet they may not be American. Membership within the American nation is inherited through blood, not ink. Even those born in America may yet be foreign...Nationhood cannot be bestowed upon those who are not of the founding stock of our people, and those who do not share the common spirit that permeates our greater civilization, and the European diaspora...In order to survive as a culture, a heritage, and a way of being, our nation must learn that its collective interests are fighting against its collective threats of replacement and enslavement...The damage done to this nation and its people will not be fixed if every issue requires the approval and blessing from the dysfunctional American democratic system. Democracy has failed in this once great nation."