The far-right "Patriot Front" rallied today in front of the United States Capitol and marched throughout Washington DC, protected at all stages by MPD, who kept press & counter-protesters away from them.
Their avowed fascist leader Thomas Rousseau led chants & spoke at Capitol.
Their avowed fascist leader Thomas Rousseau led chants & spoke at Capitol.
Patriot Front marched through the National Mall, filming themselves as they passed locations like the WWII and Lincoln memorials with a roving police perimeter surrounding them.
They ultimately crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge into Virginia.
They ultimately crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge into Virginia.
After crossing into Virginia, about half of the "Patriot Front" members loaded into U-Haul moving trucks and were driven away.
The remaining 75 or so members stood in a shield formation behind a police line.
Officers detoured traffic in the area & closed one side of the bridge.
The remaining 75 or so members stood in a shield formation behind a police line.
Officers detoured traffic in the area & closed one side of the bridge.
It wasn't until more than an hour later that another or one of the earlier U-Hauls came to pick up the remaining "Patriot Front" members who had been standing still surrounded by cops until then.
Only about half of them fit, leaving 30-40 more standing on the side of the road.
Only about half of them fit, leaving 30-40 more standing on the side of the road.
Officers circled their vehicles around the remaining 30-40 Patriot Front members and let traffic begin again.
Totaling more than three hours after reaching their exit point, a U-Haul picked up the remaining members from the side of the road at Arlington National Cemetery.
Totaling more than three hours after reaching their exit point, a U-Haul picked up the remaining members from the side of the road at Arlington National Cemetery.
Here is my full @N2Sreports summary video reel of today's unexpected rally by the fascist group "Patriot Front" throughout Washington DC.
The rally was a surprise, so my video begins roughly an hour after they apparently entered the city.
The rally was a surprise, so my video begins roughly an hour after they apparently entered the city.
To be very clear, I don't use the term "fascist" sparingly; the group was led tonight by its founder Thomas Rousseau (seen throughout the footage, the only member not wearing a mask), who openly said he identifies as a fascist at Charlottesville.
https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1226629333160275968
For more on the background of Patriot Front, I'd recommend this very thorough story by @thencarolsaid and @frizimmermann at @propublica.
propublica.org/article/they-a…
propublica.org/article/they-a…
Added odd element to this story: Apparently a fake account on Twitter that appears to have belonged to Patriot Front itself was the first one to tweet about this.
@washingtonpost wrote about it, but @conspirator0 I think caught this first.
washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/…
@washingtonpost wrote about it, but @conspirator0 I think caught this first.
washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/…
https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/1467287534464114690
It was after that that antifascist accounts began talking about it.
I personally didn’t arrive until more than half hour after seeing these; some journalists didn’t arrive until the masked group had reached their apparent pickup space where they were guarded by police for hours.
I personally didn’t arrive until more than half hour after seeing these; some journalists didn’t arrive until the masked group had reached their apparent pickup space where they were guarded by police for hours.
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