Southern Oregon man posts bail as he faces riot charge in Idaho

A laborer from a rural southern Oregon community was among those charged with conspiracy to riot after they were arrested Saturday on their way to a community celebration in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

Lawrence A. Norman, 32, of Prospect, posted $300 bail and was released from the Kootenai County Jail.

Norman could not be reached, but Oregon court records show he lived in Lynnwood, Washington at the time in 2015 when he was cited for speeding in central Oregon.

Prospect is in the foothills of the Cascades, 45 miles east of Medford.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department reported that its only contacts with Norman were during a traffic stop and when he reported a theft.

He was among 31 arrested on Saturday after a citizen tipped off police about men climbing into the back of a U-Haul van.

Lee White, Coeur D’Alene police chief, said in a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 11, that men all attired alike were taken out of the van without incident. He said police recovered shields and one smoke grenade.

White said the men were affiliated with Patriot Front, a national white supremacist group.

The group’s founder and leader, Thomas Rousseau of Grapevine, Texas, was among those arrested in Idaho.

They intended to disrupt Pride in the Park, a gathering of LGBTQ community members and their supporters.

“They came to riot downtown,” White said.

Those arrested listed addresses in several states, including Washington, Utah, Colorado, Alabama, South Dakota and Texas.

The Patriot Front last December used U-Haul vans in Washington, D.C., as they gathered for a protest at the Lincoln Memorial, according to the Daily Mail.