Ammon man linked to white supremacist group to go to trial - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

Ammon man linked to white supremacist group to go to trial

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AMMON — A 21-year-old Ammon man believed to be connected to a white supremacist group that had plans to disrupt a northern Idaho LGBTQ pride event will go to trial.

Richard Jacob Jessop was one of 31 people arrested near Coeur d’Alene in June.

RELATED | Local man allegedly involved in white supremacist group arrested in Coeur d’Alene

Jessop plead not guilty to misdemeanor criminal conspiracy last week. Since he pleaded not guilty, there is now a jury trial scheduled for him in Kootenai County on Oct. 17.

On June 11, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, officers received information that a large group of similarly dressed masked people armed with shields entered the back of a U-Haul van heading toward downtown Coeur d’Alene.

RELATED | 31 Patriot Front members arrested near Idaho pride event

The documents said a concerned citizen described them as looking “like a little army.”

The van was stopped by officers, and 31 people were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy to commit a riot, which is a misdemeanor.

Based on documents and evidence, authorities found that the group was planning to riot in several areas of downtown, not just the park where the pride event was taking place.

Investigators say the 31 people are part of the Patriot Front.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an anti-hate organization, Patriot Front is a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them and no one else. Patriot Front participates in localized “flash demonstrations” across the nation.

RELATED | The 31 people arrested in Idaho have ties to a white nationalist group and planned to riot at a Pride event, police say. Here’s what we know.

Jessop posted his $300 cash bond. Suspects are from all over the United States, including Michigan, Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Illinois and Arkansas.

Only two were from Idaho, including Jessop and 21-year-old Winston Worth Durham from Genesee. Durham plead not guilty in June and has a jury trial scheduled for Sept. 19 in Kootenai County.

RELATED | 6 members of white supremacist group appear in Idaho court

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