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Six members of Patriot Front pleaded not guilty

A group of 31 men with the white supremacy group Patriot Front were removed from the back of a U-Haul rental truck and arrested after a traffic stop by multiple law enforcement agencies on Northwest Boulevard in Coeur d’ Alene. The stop was made just a few blocks from where the “Pride in the Park” event was being held in Coeur d’Alene City Park on June 11, 2022. Police say the men, dressed similarly, had shields and other gear and were intending to riot in downtown Coeur d’Alene. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Quinn Welsch quinnw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5469

Six more members of the Patriot Front pleaded not guilty to accusations that they were planning to incite a riot in Coeur d’Alene during the North Idaho Pride in the Park event in June.

Jared M. Boyce, 28, of Springville, Utah; Nathan D. Brenner, 26, of Louisville, Colorado; Colton M. Brown, 23, of Midvale, Utah; Graham J. Whitson, 32, of Haslet, Texas; Mitchell F. Wagner, 25, of Florissant, Missouri; and Robert B. Whitted, 22, of Conroe, Texas: These six are among 31 men who were arrested June 11 with 25 others when North Idaho law enforcement found them in the back of a U-Haul truck equipped with riot gear and a smoke grenade, among other items.

The pride event had been the focus of far-right ire for several weeks before the Patriot Front members were arrested.

Their U-Haul truck was stopped after a concerned citizen reported seeing a “little army” climbing inside at a hotel parking lot. Police stopped the vehicle less than a quarter-mile away from its destination.

Only one of the men arrested, Winston W. Durham, 21, of Genesee, was from North Idaho. A few had ties to Spokane.

So far, 19 of the 31 men arrested on June 11 have appeared in court. At least four more are scheduled to appear in a final arraignment on Monday, Aug. 29, including the group’s leader, Thomas R. Rousseau.

Patriot Front is a white nationalist group that specializes in vandalism, racist propaganda and “flash demonstrations” meant to intimidate minorities, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League.

A trial for the Patriot Front members likely will be held in September, Coeur d’Alene Chief Criminal Deputy City Attorney Wes Sommerton said.