The arrests have cast worry over dozens of Pride events across Texas scheduled to take place in the coming weeks as the monthlong celebration in remembrance of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising continues. The group members, eight of whom are Texans, have since been released on bond. Officials on the scene located a smoke grenade in the vehicle, along with “abnormally large metal poles and voice amplification-type devices,” according to court records obtained by KXLY News. Members of Patriot Front were arrested Saturday in Idaho on misdemeanor conspiracy to riot charges after the Coeur d’Alene police department responded to a call about “a little army” of people with masks and shields getting into a U-Haul van near a Pride event.
“We just keep hearing of these far-right extremists that continue to attack and demonize the LGBTQIA community,” Daniel Pacheco, co-chair of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio, told The Texas Tribune. PFLAG Houston is just one of several LGBTQ advocacy groups this month weighing their safety and their desire to move forward with the events that commemorate the catalyst of their civil rights movement. The organization had to decide whether participating in the event was even safe.
