SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – On Saturday, 31 people were arrested who are believed to be affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front in Idaho after they gathered near a Pride parade, police said. Two of the individuals arrested are from the St Louis area.
The parade took place in Coeur d'Alene, and the Coeur d'Alene police chief Lee White shared during a news conference that those arrested were planning to riot.
"It is clear to us based on the gear that the individuals had with them, the stuff they had in their possession, the U-Haul with them along with paperwork that was seized from them, that they came to riot downtown," White said.
White added that they were informed by a citizen that "approximately 20 people jumped into a U-Haul. They had shields and looked like a little army."
Those arrested were all wearing similar clothing to those within Patriot Front, and some were brandishing the group's symbol, according to police. But it doesn't stop at clothing, as police shared that at least one smoke grenade was in their possession.
The two men from the region arrested in Idaho include 24 year-old Mitchell Frederick Wagner of St. Louis County and 23 year-old Garret Joseph Garland of Freeburg, IL.
White shared that the group also had "shields, shin guards, and other riot gear with them." He continued saying they had papers that seemed "similar to an operations plan that a police or military group would put together for an event."
The Anti-Defamation League has identified Patriot Front as a white supremacist group that believes America belongs to them because their ancestors conquered it.
The FBI is assisting the Coeur d'Alene Police Department in its investigation, FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Yi Barker shared, adding that Coeur d'Alene police are still leading the investigation.
The 31 were arrested for conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor, but have not been identified due to them still being processed. However, White did share that they came from at least 11 states.
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