Patriot Front is an American
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
and
neo-fascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...
. Part of the broader
alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
movement, the group split off from the
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
organization
Vanguard America
Vanguard America is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, neo-fascist organization. The organization is also a member of the Nationalist Front. The group gained significant attention after it was revealed that James Alex Fields had march ...
in the aftermath of the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in 2017.
Patriot Front's aesthetic combines traditional
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
with fascist symbolism. The group reportedly had between 200 and 300 members as of late 2021.
According to the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, the group generated 82% of reported incidents in 2021 involving distribution of
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
,
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, and other hateful propaganda in the United States, comprising 3,992 incidents in every state except Hawaii and Alaska.
History and beliefs
![Flag of Patriot Front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Flag_of_Patriot_Front.svg)
Patriot Front is led by Thomas Ryan Rousseau, who was a teenager when he founded the group. In 2017, Rousseau took control of Vanguard America's web and
Discord
Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
server several weeks before the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, in which he participated as the leader of Vanguard America's contingent. Following the bad press arising from the rally, Rousseau left Vanguard. He used the group's domain name to form Patriot Front as a new group and recruit rally participants, though most of Patriot Front's members were former Vanguard members.
Rousseau has been arrested repeatedly in the group's activities.
As with Vanguard America, Patriot Front supports a version of white-centered ideology compatible with the views of
fascists across America, such as closed borders and
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
government. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), "Patriot Front is a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them, and no one else."
The group uses patriotic imagery to broaden its appeal, while adding symbols like the
fasces
Fasces ( ; ; a ''plurale tantum'', from the Latin word ''fascis'', meaning "bundle"; it, fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbo ...
, the symbol of
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
. It uses attention-grabbing techniques like detonating
smoke bombs
A smoke bomb is a firework designed to produce a large amount of smoke upon ignition.
History
Early Japanese history saw the use of a rudimentary form of the smoke bomb. Explosives were common in Japan during the Mongol invasions of the 13th ...
during demonstrations and protests.
According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
(SPLC), "Patriot Front focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country."
The group published a manifesto which contained passages including:
Those of foreign birth may occupy civil status within the lands occupied by the state, and they may even be dutiful citizens, yet they may not be American. Membership within the American nation is inherited through blood, not ink. Even those born in America may yet be foreign...Nationhood cannot be bestowed upon those who are not of the founding stock of our people, and those who do not share the common spirit that permeates our greater civilization, and the European diaspora...In order to survive as a culture, a heritage, and a way of being, our nation must learn that its collective interests are fighting against its collective threats of replacement and enslavement...The damage done to this nation and its people will not be fixed if every issue requires the approval and blessing from the dysfunctional American democratic system. Democracy has failed in this once great nation.
The group's members consist of eight regional networks, and its recruitment is primarily done online. The group avoids talking about guns or violence online as a policy, but as Pete Simi, an expert on white supremacy, explained to ''
Pro Publica'', "It is very common for the leadership of these groups to disqualify violence, while doing things that are encouraging violence. ... It is part of their strategy to avoid liability, while simultaneously promoting hate. When they say they are not violent, this is a lie. They are promoting violence by their goals."
A 2019 investigation by ProPublica estimated the group had about 300 members;
in leaked chats at the end of 2021, Rousseau complained about a "220's to 230's membership rut".
According to the SPLC, as of 2021, Patriot Front had 42 chapters and was arguably the leading white supremacist group in the country, and the most active in using flyers for recruitment. According to ProPublica, Rousseau and others in the group "delight in seeing their actions reflected in the SPLC’s nationwide map recording acts of hate and in the media".
Activities and events
![Patriot Front sticker in Portland, CT, 2022-4-15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Patriot_Front_sticker_in_Portland%2C_CT%2C_2022-4-15.jpg)
Patriot Front's demonstrations, literature, and sometimes acts of service are "tightly choreographed and scripted to maximize propaganda value", according to the SPLC.
The ADL estimated that Patriot Front generated 82% of reported incidents of distributing racist, antisemitic and other hateful propaganda in the U.S. during 2021, and 80% in 2020.
According to leaked chats made public in January 2022, Patriot Front members are required to deface racial justice murals in their areas.
2018
On July 28, Members of Patriot Front marched on an
Occupy ICE
Occupy ICE is a series of protests, modeled on the Occupy Movement, that emerged in the United States in reaction to the Trump administration family separation policy, with a goal of disrupting operations at several U.S. Immigration and Customs En ...
protest in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, and filmed themselves vandalizing protestors' tents and signs.
2019
On February 13, hundreds of racist and anti-immigrant signs and flyers were taped up in the
East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...
section of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, an area with many immigrants. Patriot Front claimed responsibility. Boston Mayor
Marty Walsh
Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...
denounced the incident. On February 15, Boston police arrested three Patriot Front members; two faced charges of carrying weapons, and one was charged with assault on a police officer after allegedly slapping an officer's hand.
2020
On February 8, about 100 Patriot Front marched in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, along the
National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
from the
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...
to the
US Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
grounds, and then headed north to a
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
near
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North Ameri ...
. The marchers wore khakis, matching dark blue jackets, hats, full white face masks, and dark sunglasses, and carried various modified versions of the American flag with the Patriot Front logo.
In August, during protests and counter-protests in
Weatherford, Texas
Weatherford ( ) is a city and the county seat of Parker County, Texas, United States. In 2020, its population was 30,854. Weatherford is named after Thomas J. Weatherford, a State senator and advocate for Texas’ secession to the Confederate S ...
, over a
Confederate statue, police arrested three men including Rousseau who had plastered stickers on signs, parks and property. They were charged with criminal mischief, jailed on a $500 bond and released.
2021
On January 29, a group of men wearing khaki pants, matching blue jackets with patches, and white face masks marched on the National Mall toward the US Capitol carrying flags with Patriot Front symbolism.
On December 4, More than 100 members of Patriot Front held a rally in downtown Washington, D.C., chanting "reclaim America", carrying flags and plastic shields and wearing uniforms consisting of white gaiters, sunglasses, blue jackets, khaki pants, brown boots and hats. Some wore plastic shin guards.
2022
In January, members of Patriot Front were seen at the
2022 March for Life anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
rally in Washington, D.C.
On June 11, police arrested 31 members of Patriot Front they stopped inside a U-Haul truck near an
LGBT Pride
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
event in
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an stitching awl, Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolita ...
. They were charged with conspiracy to riot. Rousseau was one of the members arrested.
An anonymous caller tipped off police when they saw the group of men climbing into a U-Haul after retrieving shields from the back of a truck.
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office released the mugshots and names of all 31 arrested, who were from at least 11 states.
After the arrests, the Coeur d'Alene police chief said the police department received death and
doxxing
Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this in ...
threats. By June 13, all 31 members were released on bail. Court documents stated police had recovered a typed document that detailed the group's goal and planning for the day.
On July 2, about 100 masked members with shields and a banner marched through Boston, with stops at the
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
and
Old State House building. Police said one man was injured in a confrontation with Patriot Front members.
Leaked online chats
On January 21, 2022,
Unicorn Riot
Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, nonprofit, left-wing media collective that originated online in 2015. The group is known for reporting on far-right organizations and sources of racial and economic injustice in the US. The non-hierarchical me ...
, a left-wing nonprofit media organization, published more than 400 gigabytes of leaked audio files, chat logs, documents, photographs and videos from Patriot Front's chat server.
The leak revealed the group's efforts to recruit new members and increase its public profile through private communications on
Rocket.Chat, an open-source messaging platform.
The chat logs showed the group struggled to expand membership, often reprimanding members for not meeting fitness and participation requirements, according to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. In a conversation with Patriot Front “lieutenants” on December 14, 2021, Rousseau wrote, "We are absolutely desperate for new people. We've been in the 220's to 230's membership rut for nearly a full year."
The communications revealed the group attempted to inflate its membership numbers and importance; outlined plans to spread misinformation about public events on social media sites, such as
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
and
4chan
4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, cooking, weapons, television, ...
, and send deceptive news tips to journalists at traditional media outlets; and detailed notes of interviews with potential members.
The leak also included media of members training, vandalizing, and demonstrating; Rousseau at a 2021
''American Renaissance'' conference; and Patriot Front's guides to behavior.
See also
*
Far-right politics
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
*
List of neo-Nazi organizations
The following is a list of organizations, both active and defunct, whose ideological beliefs are categorized as neo-Nazism. This includes political parties, terrorist cells, street gangs, social clubs, criminal groups, websites, religious sects, ...
*
*
List of white nationalist organizations
The following is the list of well-known white nationalist organizations, groups and related media:
White nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people; some white nationalists a ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Neo-Nazism
2017 establishments in the United States
Alt-right organizations
Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States
Neo-Nazi organizations in the United States
Patriot movement
Political organizations established in 2017