The biker group, which discussed its plans in April, doesn’t appear to be connected with the 31 people arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot on June 11.
A biker group allegedly vowed to « go head-to-head. to the fight » with an Idaho Gay Pride celebration – and publicly unveiled their plan during an event hosted by Republican state representative Heather Scott. While that group’s plans did not appear to come to fruition, members of a separate group did make an active effort to disrupt the event. On Saturday, 31 white supremacists affiliated with the Patriot Front organization were charged with conspiring to riot in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho as the city’s Pride in the Park was taking place. But it has now emerged that details of a planned demonstration were reportedly revealed by another group, the Panhandle Patriots Riding Club, more than a month earlier, during a meeting in a church hall on April 28 hosted by Scott, the representative for Idaho’s 1st district. There is no suggestion that the Panhandle Patriots are linked to the Patriot Front, or that Scott was aware of the group’s plans beforehand. During the event, which mostly focused on the speakers’ opposition to children’s books featuring stories with gay or transgender characters, Scott handed the floor over to two members of the Panhandle Patriots bikers who then discussed the organization’s plans to target the upcoming Pride event. Footage circulated online showed one of the men, who was not identified during the clip, telling the crowd: « That very same day [as Pride], we intend to go head-to-head with these people. A line must be drawn in the sand. Good people need to stand up. And she [Scott] was talking about the repercussions. We say, ‘Damn the repercussions.' »
Salt Lake Magazine also quoted the man’s speech, claiming he continued speaking and went on to say: « Stand up, take it to the head.
