‘Reject the hate’: A year after mass arrests, N. Idaho Pride event sees support, safety

North Idaho made national headlines last year when a white nationalist group planned to disrupt a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, but that didn’t keep the local LGBTQ+ community from celebrating this year.

Hundreds of organizers, city officials and LGBTQ+ allies gathered Saturday in downtown Coeur d’Alene at City Park to celebrate the start of Pride month, which is June.

North Idaho Pride Alliance director Sarah Lynch told the Idaho Capital Sun that the organization’s goal was to provide a space where people can celebrate authenticity and support the LGBTQ+ community.

The alliance began the event by inviting city officials to read a proclamation signed by Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond for Pride month.

“We have been sincerely honored by the outpouring of support from city leadership for the LGBTQIA+ community as we approach this year’s Pride in the Park,” Lynch said.

On the day of last year’s Pride in the Park, local law enforcement arrested 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front on misdemeanor conspiracy to riot charges after a 911 caller alerted police to a group of armed, masked men crowding inside in a U-Haul truck. The 31 men came from Idaho and at least a dozen states, including Utah, Texas, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.

Lynch said that despite the presence of religious protesters this year, the event felt more relaxed.

“What last year showed me was that despite all the rhetoric and the fact that we were double booked with Spokane Pride, so many people showed up,” she said in an interview. “That showed me that this is a community that needs Pride and wants Pride. This community pulled together to reject the hate.”

Lynch said last year’s event was “transformative,” and since then the alliance has built relationships with public safety officials and local community members to tend to areas for growth and safety.

‘There’s a lot of resilience’: Vendors talk LGBTQ+ experience

Community support grew from 50 vendors last year to nearly 70 participating in this year’s event, Lynch said. Vendors included local businesses, LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofits, health clinics and faith groups.

Boise-based advocacy groups also were present, including Add the Words Idaho, which fights to have the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” added to the Idaho Human Rights Act to protect against discrimination.

Boise’s large annual LGBTQ+ event, the Boise Pride Festival, now takes place in September each year rather than June. It is Sept. 8-10 this year.

ACLU legislative strategist Amy Dundon told the Idaho Capital Sun that she was astounded by the thoughtfulness and creativity of the Pride event in Coeur d’Alene.

“There’s a lot of talk about the ways in which North Idaho is associated with a type of group, but I think what we’re seeing here today is a really peaceful, beautiful event with people who are showing up because they’re brave and because they know that despite certain groups being here, we’re not going to go back into hiding,” she said. “There’s a lot of resilience.”

Pride in the Park was the first of a series of events the alliance is hosting in June. There are a tie-dye party, a pizza fundraiser, an inclusive health care panel and a fashion show still to come.

Mia Birmingham, the former North Idaho College Gender and Sexuality Alliance club president, told the Sun that this year’s pride was more peaceful overall than last year’s.

“The atmosphere compared to last year is astronomically better,” he said. “Last year there were people walking around with machine guns. This year, there are less protesters and more people attending.”

Birmingham said living in North Idaho as a member of the LGBTQ+ community can be a difficult experience, and he is seeing people in the community, including himself, wanting to leave the state out of fear and lack of acceptance. Birmingham compared the state’s LGBTQ+ community to an unhealthy relationship.

“To put it in simpler terms, when you’re in a toxic relationship with a person and you realize that they hurt you, you don’t want to stay,” he said. “You do your best, if possible, to get out. So that’s what we’re experiencing.”

Patriot Front arrests: Where do cases stand?

Court records show that all of the 31 men arrested posted bond of $300 the same weekend they were taken into custody. Since then, five Patriot Front members have had arrest warrants issued for various reasons, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They were:

▪ Jared M. Boyce, 28, of Utah

▪ Connor P. Moran, 24, of Texas

▪ James J. Johnson, 37, of Washington

▪ Graham J. Whitson, of Texas

▪ Derek J. Smith, 24, of South Dakota

Smith has a jury trial scheduled to begin June 26.

Of the 31 men arrested, all but three are scheduled for a jury trial. Boyce, Whitson and Moran all failed to appear at their pretrial conference or original trial date.

Boyce was issued a warrant after failing to appear via zoom for a pretrial conference in December. Salt Lake City Fox 13 reported that he pleaded guilty in Utah to nine felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and remains incarcerated at the Utah County Jail.

A jury trial for Whitson has not been rescheduled after he failed to appear in March. A warrant for his arrest was issued.

Moran also failed to appear for a pretrial conference, and a warrant for his arrest was issued in February. He is scheduled for a hearing on June 30 to determine whether the arrest warrant will remain in place.

Only one member has wrapped up his case. Alexander Sisenstein, 27, of Utah, was sentenced in November. His original charge for conspiracy to riot was modified to misdemeanor disturbing the peace. He was sentenced to a two-year unsupervised probation with one day credit for time served, according to The Spokesman-Review. Court records show he also had to pay a $500 fine.

This story was originally published June 5, 2023 at 1:01 PM.