Two residents of Sioux Falls were arrested in Coeur d’Alene Idaho in a group of Patriot Front members who were planning to disrupt a local Pride rally. The Kootenai Co Sheriff's Office Booking Summary Report, Press Log for`05:00:00 06/11/2022` and `05:00:00 06/12/2022 includes James Michael Johnson, 40, and Derek Joseph Smith, 24, as booked for Criminal Conspiracy (called "conspiracy to riot" in the news reports below).
The log book includes residences and ages, but we are not posting their addresses as doxing isn't our purpose. As the log changes daily, we've posted a copy here at Scribd.
Neither man has any record of criminal activity in South Dakota's eCourt system. We'll continue to look for more information on Johnson and Smith.
UPDATE #2 6/13: See their photos at By their mugshots ye can know them: Sioux Falls white supremacist 'phobes Johnson & Smith.
UPDATE: At the Mitchell Republic, Hunter Dunteman reported this afternoon Two Sioux Falls men among 31 arrested with riot gear, smoke grenade near Pride event in northern Idaho. [end update]
At Keloland, Perry Groten reports in 31 Patriot Front members arrested near Idaho pride event:
Authorities arrested 31 people from 11 states, including South Dakota, for allegedly planning to riot near a Pride event in Idaho Saturday.
Police found the members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear and began arresting them on the side of the road.
The men were standing inside the truck wearing khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white cloth face-coverings. A tipster saw the group loading the U-Haul with masks and shields and told police the group “looked like a little army.”
Police already had a heavy presence at the Pride event at the time of the arrests.
The suspects were booked Saturday with misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot. They’re scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
KARE-11 reported more about the Patriot Front in 31 Patriot Front members arrested near Idaho pride event:
. . . “They came to riot downtown,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said at a news conference.
All 31 were charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor, White said. The men were going through the booking process Saturday afternoon and are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, he said.
Based on evidence collected and documents, authorities found that the group was planning to riot in several areas of downtown, not just the park, White said.
Police found riot gear, one smoke grenade, shin guards and shields inside the van, White said. They wore arm patches and logos on their hats that identified them as members of Patriot Front, he said.
Police learned about the U-Haul from a tipster, who reported that “it looked like a little army was loading up into the vehicle” in the parking lot of a hotel, White said. Officials spotted the truck soon after and pulled it over, he said.
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.
Police led the men, one by one, to the front of patrol cars, took off their masks and then brought them to a police van.
Those arrested came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas, White said. . . .
Here's a YouTube from a local station in Idaho:
This is a developing story.
Photo: Members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front demonstrate near the National Archives in Washington, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. Police say 31 members of the group were charged with conspiracy to riot on Saturday in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) via the Salt Lake Tribune.
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