Patriot Front Members Appear on Idaho Wanted List
Judges in Kootenai County, Idaho, have issued arrest warrants for five members of white nationalist hate group Patriot Front, and the men have been added to a wanted list circulated by that county’s sheriff.
The charges arose from the group’s alleged plans to disrupt a Pride festival in Coeur d’Alene last June. At that time, 31 members of the group were arrested by officers of Coeur d’Alene Police Department as they alighted from rental trucks. All were subsequently charged with misdemeanor conspiracy to riot.
The Daily Dot reported on the warrants on April 11.
Graham Jones Whitson, 32, last known to reside in Haslet, Texas, was not only a long-term member of Patriot Front, but also a camera operator for the closely aligned propaganda operation Media2Rise, founded by violent white nationalist Robert Rundo.
Hatewatch reported last month that Rundo was arrested in Romania on the request of U.S. authorities seeking his extradition to face federal riot charges over his alleged activities as head of the brawling white nationalist gang the Rise Above Movement.
Previously, Hatewatch reported that a leaked list from the Department of Homeland Security’s Terrorist Screening Center had Rundo marked as “no-fly,” meaning that he should be prevented from boarding an aircraft flying to, from, within or over the U.S.
Whitson pleaded not guilty at an Aug. 23, 2022, hearing but failed to appear for the start of his jury trial on March 13.
A warrant has also been issued for Texas-based Patriot Front member Connor Patrick Moran, who pleaded not guilty at a June 19, 2022, hearing but failed to appear on March 6 for the start of his jury trial.
Warrants have also been issued for Jared Michael Boyce, 28, of Springville, Utah; James Julius Johnson, 37, of Concrete, Washington; and Derek Joseph Smith, 24, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Boyce, Johnson and Smith attended initial hearings in their cases in July 2022, and all pleaded not guilty.
All failed to appear at subsequent hearings: Boyce on Dec. 2, 2022; Johnson on March 20; and Smith on Sept. 30, 2022.
Boyce’s alleged involvement in the planned riot attracted a flurry of coverage in the days following the arrest after his mother reportedly evicted him from their family home.
Hatewatch has reported extensively over several years on the consequences Patriot Front members have faced as a result of their white nationalist activism, publicity stunts and acts of violence.
Hatewatch’s new interactive Patriot Front timeline summarizes this history and links to reporting from Hatewatch and other outlets.
Photo illustration by SPLC (L-R, Connor P. Moran , Derek J. Smith, Graham J. Whitson, James J. Johnson and Jared M. Boyce. Source photos from Kootenai County Sheriff Office)
