FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Thursday, July 20, Devin Wayne Center, a Fayetteville man was among five others found guilty of conspiracy to riot at an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Idaho on June 11, 2022.
Center and the other four men, Forrest Rankin, Robert Whitted, James J. Johnson and Derek Smith had previously pleaded not guilty last year. They have been sentenced to three days in jail and on unsupervised probation for one year. They will also be banned from being within two miles of Coeur D'Alene City Park during the probation, according to officials.
Center and 30 other men have been found connected to the white nationalist group Patriot Front.
During the trial, Coeur d’Alene Police Captain David Hagar testified that while monitoring the downtown Pride parade, a call came in stating that a U-Haul truck was being "Loaded up with a small army of people," before heading towards the downtown area.
In body camera footage taken as officers pulled over the U-Haul, Captain Hagar can be heard speaking about issuing "20 no-seatbelt tickets," right before the hatch is pulled up, revealing 28 men.
Police say that there were approximately 17 shields in the truck, six radios, first aid kits, and two 10-foot poles with what appeared to be American flags on the end.
Captain Hagar described the shields during his testimony as likely being able to do "some serious damage."
During the trial, when Center's defense argued that the police decided to arrest the men simply because of their clothing, Captain Hagar reportedly replied with "No one else had two-way radios. No one had shin guards ... You can't portray them as citizens who were downtown just walking in the park."
The Coeur d’Alene Police Lieutenant Johann Schmitz, when taking the stand after his captain stated that "I didn't know what their intent was, but it warranted our attention," before saying that "A U-Haul is not a normal mode of transport for people."
When the defense argued that in order to make an arrest, probable cause needs to be established, Lieutenant Schmitz reportedly replied that "We don't have to wait for someone to commit the crime ... I believe we had probable cause, and the fact that we're here today is proof of that."
This conspiracy to riot charge is punishable by up to a year in jail, and a $5,000 charge.
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