Just days after the House Select Committee held its first public hearing to reveal the extent of the insurrection attempt on January 6, 2021, a group of white supremacists has been charged by police in Idaho for conspiracy to riot during an LGBTQ Pride event.

The 31 white men are part of a group known as Patriot Front, a right-wing hate group. The group was reportedly planning to riot in protest of Pride events that day, potentially hurting people in the process had they been able to carry out their plan.

Fortunately, a concerned citizen informed the police, who were in force at the event due to multiple threats from right-wing groups. Officers detained all of the men, who were packed inside a U-Haul that was transporting them to several locations. They were also armed with shields and a smoke bomb and were wearing masks, which is ironic considering right-wingers have been raging against masks for months.

Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White told reporters that the white supremacists “came to riot downtown.”

“It appears they did not come here to engage in peaceful events,” Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris added.

Clearly, this right-wing group was intending to riot and cause sheer panic in the streets. Hate and violence against the LGBTQ community have risen in the last few years as Republicans pass discriminatory laws in red states. It’s a problem that’s only getting worse.

This is the kind of domestic terrorism that Democrats in Congress have sought to stand up against, only to be blocked by Republicans who have no problem with right-wing terrorism at all.

The growing dangers of right-wing domestic terrorism are only highlighted further by the fact that the 31 men all came from 11 different states, including Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas. This country needs to start cracking down on right-wing terrorists. They are organizing and they clearly have no problem being a menace to society.

Police were able to stop them this time before they were able to cause violence and chaos. Next time might turn out differently.

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