Police in Idaho, USA, have received several threats and hate calls after they arrested 31 men who were planning riots at a Pride event. One phone came from Norway.
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On Saturday, police arrested Coeur d’Alene in the state of Idaho 31 men affiliated with the nationalist group Patriot Front.
According to police, the men were arrested for planning riots at a Pride event in the city. All are now charged with planning riots.
According to the police, the men were wearing masks and Finnish hats, khaki trousers, blue shirts and caps and are said to have had shields, spears and smoke grenades. Several had the text “Reclaim America” on their clothes.
It was a worried private person who called the police when he saw the accused get into a van with the equipment.
The Patriot Front is described as a nationalist hate group and was formed by former members of Vanguard America after the right-wing radical demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, in which one of the group’s members drove into the crowd and killed a woman.
See the photos from the arrest:
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Phone from Norway
At a press conference on Monday, Coeur d’Alene police chief Lee White talks about how society has dealt with the incident.
White starts by saying that there have been about 149 phone calls from various people, but the reactions have been divided. Half have praised the police for their work, while the rest have scolded the police:
– The other half are completely anonymous and have wanted nothing more than to scold us and use some specific words. They have made death threats against me and others in the police, just because we have done our job.
He continues:
– These people will obviously be anonymous and do not tell where they are from. But we have received a call from as far away as Norway.
VG has so far not succeeded in getting a comment from the police in Coeur d’Alene. It is not known whether the conversation from Norway contained threats.
Would throw smoke grenades
White has previously said that the Patriot Front group had detailed plans for how to start riots at the Pride event.
– They talked about that they would go into the park and immediately confront people. As soon as they met resistance, they would throw smoke grenades, according to White.
The police had previously increased their presence in the city after several online threats.
The Washington Post has spoken with Professor Kurt Braddock at American University. He researches violent extremist groups and how they communicate.
According to Braddock, researchers have warned that lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender people (LGBT +) will be the next target for far-right extremists.
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