Light sentences still send an important message

Ahandful of the men who planned to pour out of a U-haul van to disrupt a North Idaho Pride celebration received sentences that light but send an important may seem message.

The five members of the white nationalist organization — Devin Center, James Johnson, Forrest Rankin, Derek Smith and Robert Whitted — were all swiftly handed unanimous guilty verdicts on misdemeanor conspiracy to riot charges by a North Idaho jury. They, along with 21 other white nationalists, had planned to pick a fight at a Pride celebration in Coeur d’alene, Idaho, in 2022, and they traveled from all around the country to do it.

Each of the five were sentenced to $1,000 fines and a few days in jail, which is about what you would expect for charges like these.

Though the penalty they will face is not great, it is important.

Protests are supposed to be about words, not violence or intimidation. Even Nazis get to have their say. But if you come looking for a street fight, you’re no longer under First Amendment protection. This decision underlines that fact.

“Our youth will rise up and destroy this affront to our culture or be prey to the repugnant lusts of these costumed prostitutes,” the group’s leader planned to shout over a bullhorn after they rushed out of a U-haul van carrying shields and wearing face masks.

The group’s commitment to fighting supposed moral depravity runs only skin deep, of course. One of their compatriots from the Coeur d’alene action was recently sentenced to jail time in Utah for possessing child sexual abuse material and sending photos of his genitals to an underage girl. That’s what he was up to when he wasn’t writing “white pride” in the bathroom stall of a local coffee shop to stick it to the “commies” who worked there.

And much like that 27-year-old, who as CNN reported, was living in his mother’s basement before she got fed up with his racism and kicked him out, Patriot Front members have consistently shown themselves to be losers, for lack of a better word.

Their dear leader, Thomas Rousseau, is a 24-year-old with a bit of graphic design skill, who worries that if his followers don’t buy enough racist stickers — evidently his main source of income — he will have to get a job, according to leaked recordings of Patriot Front meetings.

Those leaked recordings and chats show members are often berated for not buying enough stickers, or not meeting their graffiti quota, or other minor infractions.

That’s what it is to be a proud warrior fighting to preserve the heritage of the West? Getting yelled at by a cowboy-hat-wearing sticker salesman because you were too busy to spray-paint a wall on your Saturday night?

Seems more like you’re in the bottom tier of a pyramid scheme, as the Guardian suggested.

Unfortunately, the Patriot Front has not been alone in targeting Pride events.

In recent years, Pride celebrations have been vilified by Christian nationalist organizations, self-proclaimed freedom foundations and even some members of state legislatures. An unmistakable and growing tide of hatred has gripped the nation and the West in particular, which is perfectly expressed in the Patriot Front’s threat to “destroy this affront to our culture.”

Books with gay characters have to be taken out of the library. Drag performers have been threatened with criminal charges. Basic health care for transgender youth has been outlawed.

Isn’t freedom supposed to be an important part of our national character?

Those who have been targeting Pride celebrations in recent years should take a long, hard look in the mirror. If guys like this Patriot Front crew are on your team, maybe you’re on the wrong team.

And it’s more important than ever for people of actual courage to act as allies to those who are being targeted for abuse. It’s important not only to counter this ongoing wave of hate, but also to provide genuine examples of moral character.