Idaho police arrest dozens on suspicion of conspiracy to riot at gay pride event

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Dozens of masked men, suspected of being tied to a White nationalist group, were arrested near an Idaho pride event on Saturday after they were found packed in the back of a U-Haul truck.

Couer d’Alene police confirmed in a press briefing that 31 individuals from a variety of states were inside the U-Haul after it was stopped by local and Idaho State Police several blocks from the pride event on Saturday afternoon. 

The several dozen men inside the truck wore khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white balaclavas covering their faces and police say that some of them wore patches that identified with Patriot Front, a White supremacist group, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The men had what appeared to be a homemade riot shield and some protective equipment, KTVB reported. It was not immediately clear why the truck was stopped.

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Members of the right-wing group Patriot Front march across Memorial Bridge in front of the Lincoln Memorial on December 04, 2021 ( Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Videos of the arrest posted on social media show the men kneeling on the grass with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.

“Reclaim America” was written on the back of one shirt.

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Dozens of police officers surrounded the group and they were taken one by one to patrol cars, where their masks, hats and sunglasses were removed. They were then led to a police van.

People participate at the inaugural WeHo Pride Parade in West Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, 2022.  (AP)

Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said all 31 people are being charged with conspiracy to riot.

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“They came to riot downtown,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said at a press conference.

Members of the right-wing group, the Patriot Front (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

White added that police were tipped off by a civilian and not by a law enforcement informant within the Patriot Front which some on social media had claimed. 

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Idaho State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Andrew Mark Miller is a writer at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.