SPOKANE, Wash. — Coeur d'Alene police arrested 31 men in the back of a U-Haul last weekend for conspiracy to riot. Police said they are members of Patriot Front and were planning to riot near a North Idaho Pride event.
So far, we've only had video capturing the moment when police arrested the hate group. But now we've discovered video that takes you inside the U-Haul before they were arrested.
The video posted by the hate group is highly edited. We do not have the raw video and do not know the context of their conversations. But it does give an idea of what was said prior to the mass arrest.
The white nationalist group posted the video last week to Odysee.com. It's a video sharing site, alternative to YouTube.
The video captures the hate group's conversations while inside the U-Haul truck. We don't know the full context of what they're saying. But you do hear some comments about what the group was expecting when they got to their destination.
Audio: "Also keep in mind that being in the center of a park at an event like this with weak willed opposition that will be heckling at most. There's not going to be opportunity for getting testy with physical responses. So mind your P's and Q's."
The video then jumps to the moment when law enforcement opened the back of the U-haul. It appears the camera is strapped to one of the men inside the U-Haul. Once they were detained, you can hear someone telling the group what they should tell police.
Audio: "The only thing you should be telling them is your name, date of birth and you are an activist wishing to peacefully assemble."
The video claims police did not do a thorough search of the 31 men. Which is why one of the activists still had a camera. The video appears to show some of the men being taken jail.
The remainder of the video shows the group getting bailed out of Kootenai County Jail. At one point, the man who looks like the leader of the group, identified as Thomas Rousseau, makes comments about there being no evidence against them.
We have made public records requests to Coeur d'Alene Police Department for officer worn body camera video of this mass arrest.
The department has not yet made those videos available.