COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Devin Center plead not guilty to criminal conspiracy after he was found in the back of a U-Haul truck along with 30 others who police say were planning to riot a Pride Parade in Idaho.
Center, 22, of Fayetteville was among those arrested in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and charged with conspiracy to riot.
On Monday, Aug. 15, Center appeared before a judge for the first time since his arrest, where he plead not guilty and was denied a public offender.
Four men connected to the 31 who were arrested appeared in court Monday. All four men pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to riot:
- Devin Wayne Center (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
- James Julius Johnson (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
- Lawrence Alexander Norman (Prospect, Oregon)
- Spencer Thomas Simpson (Ellensburg, Washington)
In total, 13 of the 31 men arrested have appeared in court. All of them have pleaded not guilty.
Those arrested come from 13 states, including Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota, Illinois, Missouri, and Idaho.
Authorities believe Center is connected with the group Patriot Front. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Patriot Front promotes fascist ideology and the "white ethnostate." The group was founded in 2017 as a spinoff of the white supremacy group called Vanguard.
Vanguard was the organization responsible for the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.