Illinois man with alleged ties to hate group among the 31 arrested en route to an Idaho Pride rally

A Downstate Illinois man was among the many 31 suspected white supremacists arrested over the weekend close to a Satisfaction occasion in Idaho after they have been discovered packed into the again of a U-Haul truck with riot gear.

The lads have been standing contained in the truck sporting khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white balaclavas overlaying their faces when Coeur d’Alene police stopped the U-Haul and commenced arresting them on the facet of the highway.

“They got here to riot downtown,” Coeur d’Alene police Chief Lee White mentioned at a information convention.

All 31 have been charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor, White mentioned. The lads have been going by way of the reserving course of Saturday afternoon and are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, he mentioned.

Amongst these arrested was Garret Joseph Garland, 23, who was charged with prison conspiracy, in line with Kootenai County Jail officers.

He had a $300 bail as of Sunday, in line with a county jail reserving doc.

In April, the Southern Poverty Legislation Heart’s Hatewatch weblog linked Garland, of Freeburg, Illinois, to the white nationalist Patriot Entrance. It accused Garland of aiding the alleged ringleader, Mitchell Wagner, 24, and others in serving to spray-paint the group’s emblem on a mural of distinguished African Individuals at Washington College in St. Louis final December.

Wagner, of Florissant, Missouri, the one individual charged in connection to the property injury incident, was with Garland and amongst these arrested in Idaho, in line with jail information.

Patriot Entrance is described by the Southern Poverty Legislation Heart as “a white nationalist hate group” that shaped after the lethal “Unite the Proper” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

“Patriot Entrance focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that may be simply distributed as propaganda for its chapters throughout the nation,” the legislation middle mentioned of the group.

The group’s manifesto requires the formation of a white ethnostate in the US, the legislation middle mentioned.

Primarily based on proof collected and paperwork, authorities discovered that the group was planning to riot in a number of areas of downtown, not simply the park, White mentioned.

Police discovered riot gear, one smoke grenade, shin guards and shields contained in the van, White mentioned. The individuals within the truck wore arm patches and logos on their hats that recognized them as members of Patriot Entrance, he mentioned.

Police realized in regards to the U-Haul from a tipster, who reported that “it regarded like a little bit military was loading up into the car” within the parking zone of a lodge, White mentioned. Officers noticed the truck quickly after and pulled it over, he mentioned.

Movies of the arrest posted on social media present the boys kneeling on the grass with their fingers zip-tied behind their backs.

“Reclaim America” was written on the again of 1 shirt.

Police led the boys, one after the other, to the entrance of patrol vehicles, took off their masks after which introduced them to a police van.

These arrested got here from a minimum of 11 states, together with Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia and Arkansas, White mentioned. Just one was from Idaho, he mentioned.

The truck was stopped close to the place the North Idaho Satisfaction Alliance was holding the Coeur d’Alene Satisfaction within the Park occasion. Police had stepped up their presence within the space through the occasion.

“It seems these individuals didn’t come right here to interact in peaceable occasions,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris informed a Coeur d’Alene Press reporter.