COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Five members of the white nationalist hate group patriot front were sentenced Thursday on lesser charges of conspiring to riot a Pride event.
A Kootenai County jury found Forrest Rankin, Devin Center, Derek Smith, James Michael Johnson and Robert Whitted guilty after an hour of deliberation, news outlets reported.
A total of 31 members of the Patriot Front, including one identified as its founder, were arrested on June 11, 2022, after someone reported seeing people loading a U-Haul truck like “a small army” in a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene, police said.
Police found riot gear, a smoke grenade, shin guards and shields inside the van after stopping it near where the North Idaho Pride Alliance was holding a Pride in the Park event, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said.
Documents found with the group reportedly described a plan to form a column outside of City Park and move in, “until barriers to access are found.” Once “an appropriate amount of confrontational dynamic had been established,” the column would withdraw and head toward Sherman Avenue.
Those arrested came from at least 11 states, including Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia and Arkansas.
Rioting is generally a misdemeanor in Idaho. Riot conspiracy is punishable by up to one year in jail, as well as a $5,000 fine and up to two years probation. The five men are scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
