The Patriot Front’s masked march in DC, featuring flags and distinctive attire, prompted police monitoring as the group drew attention on social media.

WASHINGTON — A white supremacist, neo-Nazi group based from North Texas caused a stir on social media in Washington D.C. on the Fourth of July.

Video recorded from the masked group’s march into the nation’s capital shows them gathering around Eastern Market metro station and then leaving the train at New Carrollton station, according to WFAA sister station WUSA. Social media posts showed the group marching through a number of neighborhoods in the Capitol Hill area before taking the train out of D.C, WUSA reported.

The group marched despite Fourth of July parade cancelations throughout the DMV, including one celebrating America’s 250th birthday in the District proper, according to WUSA.

DC police confirmed to WUSA they were monitoring a group matching the description of the Patriot Front in the Eastern Market neighborhood.

“The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is tracking First Amendment activities that occurred this morning in the Eastern Market neighborhood. MPD recognizes the rights of individuals to peacefully express their views and remains committed to maintaining public safety and security for DC residents and visitors.”

As of this writing, no incidents were reported in connection with the Patriot Front march.


Who is Patriot Front?

Patriot Front was founded by Thomas Rousseau, of Grapevine. 

Patriot Front is a far-right group that splintered from Vanguard America in the wake of the infamous “Unite the Right” demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In 2022, 31 Patriot Front members were arrested in Idaho, including seven from North Texas, and charged with conspiracy to riot, as they loaded into a U-Haul truck wearing body armor near a Pride event.

“Patriot Front focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country,” the Southern Poverty Law Center said of the group in WFAA’s 2022 report.

The group’s manifesto calls for the formation of a white ethnostate in the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.