Idaho police officers on Saturday arrested 31 armed people who are believed to be affiliated with the White nationalist domestic terrorist group called the Patriot Front on their way to the Coeur d’Alene PRIDE celebration . Luckily they were stopped before they could they could get there.
Via CNN: “It is clear to us based on the gear that the individuals had with them, the stuff they had in their possession, the U-Haul with them along with paperwork that was seized from them, that they came to riot downtown,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said during a news conference. The operation in Coeur d’Alene began when a concerned citizen informed police “approximately 20 people jumped into a U-Haul. They had shields and looked like a little army,” White said. Police recovered at least one smoke grenade and documents that included an “operations plan” from the truck, as well as shields and shin guards, all of which made their intentions clear, White said.
The men come from at least 11 states, including Texas, Colorado and Virginia which proves that it was coordinated and planned hate crime could have had tragic circumstances if not for the Coeur d’Alene PD.
At this time with gun violence and mass killings running amok and the open war on LGBT’s in America it is imperative that the “No Cops At Pride” mantra does not in the end turn into a disaster because a few feel “icky” at seeing uniformed police. Sometimes people need to be reminded. Feelings are not facts. They must also realize that the general health , safety and well being of the community as a whole at these events is what matters. If you take the safety of hundreds of thousands of LGBT people away because you “personally” get upset at seeing police officers in uniform protecting us.
That is not “self care”. Just selfish.
PLEASE EVEYONE. BE AWARE AND KEEP SAFE THIS PRIDE.
Police routinely lynch black men and boys. Every police department has been infiltrated with fascist officers. Those officers laugh at and harass LGBTQ folks who have been attacked in hate crimes. It’s not a matter of feeling “icky” at the sight of law enforcement. They do not protect me or my socio-economic class, they do not protect anything but the wealthy and powerful. They would just as soon slit my throat as a homosexual man, as look at me. As you admit in your article, the state police in Idaho were protecting the local police in Coeur d’Alene, NOT homosexuals. Create a society that actually protects vulnerable populations, and I will stop feeling “icky” when I see a police officer.
“Police routinely lynch black men and boys.” Recently? Can you provide any evidence of that?