Two days before the United States celebrated its independence day, dozens of masked white men marched through the city of Boston, Massachusetts under the group name "The Patriot Front".
About 100 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front marched through the heard of Boston today https://t.co/1ZCXAwVTyA
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 2, 2022
pic.twitter.com/xT6QtJrUNl
Despite condemnation from the Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu, members of the Patriot Front, often introduced as "a neo-fascist white supremacist group", walked through Boston with their faces covered, holding flags of The Patriot Front and chanting "Reclaim America".
According to the Boston Herald, around 100 members of the Patriot Front showed up for the march.
During the march that took place on Saturday, at least one fight broke between members of the white nationalist group and a black man, urging the police to break the fight off.
Patriot Front in Boston today. (Staff photo from attached article). https://t.co/ooJcRl2wSu pic.twitter.com/Xc2eXh1mO9
— Ron Filipkowski ?? (@RonFilipkowski) July 2, 2022
When women showed up at the Supreme Court to express our grief over the end of Roe, heavily armed police quickly surrounded the area & there were snipers on the roof of SCOTUS
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) July 3, 2022
Today nearly 100 Patriot Front terrorists marched through Boston
Police were seen PROTECTING them
WTF
Online, photos and videos of the march generated major discussions on the ideology of the group, their aims, and the fact that the Boston police's presence was considered "more of protection" to the group that was deemed "racist".
Mayor Wu’s response to The Patriot Front group marching in Boston.
“To the white supremacists who ran through downtown today: When we march, we don’t hide our faces. Your hate is as cowardly as it is disgusting, and it goes against all that Boston stands for.”#7News pic.twitter.com/t8e2DIHOQC— Juliana Mazza (@julianamazzatv) July 2, 2022
Some social media users compared the passive police presence during the Patriot Front's march to protests that were organized in different cities across the United States last week, following the Supreme Court's reversal of abortion rights.
The Patriot Front wore "Reclaim America"
— Omar Arnold ♚ ✊?✊? ♚ (@OmarArnold_777) July 2, 2022
Is this the Patriot Front? pic.twitter.com/jN97iVZ3hB
Some comments were more focused on the slogans held by the Patriot Front, particularly their famous "Reclaim America", which prompted comparisons between the white nationalist group's beliefs and those of Native Americans.
Who Are 'The Patriot Front'?
The Patriot Front is known as one of several white-nationalist groups that make up the alt-right movement in the United States. They were formed officially in August 2017 by several members who split from another group named Vanguard America.
The split came in the wake of the violence that erupted during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, which resulted in 4 deaths and more than 50 injures.
The Patriot Front is led by 23-years old Texas-born Thomas Ryan Rousseau, who was previously arrested in 2020 on criminal mischief charges. Thomas Ryan Rousseau was among the individuals who took part in the Boston march yesterday.
According to Anti-Defamation League, the Patriot Front was "responsible for 82% of the racist, antisemitic, and hateful propaganda in 2021 across the United States, comprising 3,992 incidents in every state except Hawaii and Alaska".
