Six Utahns among dozens arrested near Pride event in Idaho

SALT LAKE CITY — Idaho police have revealed the names of six men with Utah addresses who were among a group of people arrested in northern Idaho on Saturday with riot gear near an LGBTQ pride event.

It was likely an event, a retired special agent with the FBI told KSL TV reporter Kiersten Nunez, designed as a recruitment tool.

The men with Utah addresses are identified as:

1. Jared Michael Boyce, age 27, of Springville
2. Branden Mitchell Haney, age 35, of Kaysville
3. Cameron Kathan Pruitt, age 23, of Midway
4. Alexander Nicholai Sisenstein, age 27, of Midvale
5. Dakota Ray Tabler, age 29, of West Valley City
6. Nathaniel Taylor Whitfield, age 24, of Elk Ridge

The Associated Press reported that Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police found tools typically used during riots inside a van that was pulled over near a park where an event was scheduled by the North Idaho Pride Alliance.

Police said that 31 members of a group called Patriot Front, which is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a white nationalist hate group that focuses on “theatrical rhetoric” which can then be used as a propaganda tool.

“This is an absolute textbook example of the way they do stuff. It could be chapter one in their book of how to do a recruitment rally,” said Greg Rogers, a retired FBI special agent.

Rogers knows the ins and outs of these groups. He spent the last 20 years of his career working undercover.

“I lived with different militia groups for years, became members, spent a whole lot of time in Coeur d’Alene,” Rogers said.

He believes the patriot front planned this as a type of recruitment rally.

NBC News reported that someone contacted police after they saw the group loading into a U-Haul at a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene.

Watch the full report by KSL TV reporter Kiersten Nunez above.