EXCLUSIVE: FBI Whistleblower Reveals Malfeasance In Patriot Front Trial — Sealed Federal Warrant Has Not Been Produced In Court — Exculpatory Evidence Hidden By Leftist Prosecutor
This is going to cost taxpayers a LOT of money…
(Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) — It has been over a year since a Pride in the Park event in downtown Coeur d’Alene attracted NATIONAL attention, after Neo-Nazis, White Lives Matter, Patriot Front, Satanists, Antifa & Drag Queens turned our small North Idaho community into an anti-christian FREAKSHOW.
The event, which was spearheaded by the Human Rights Education Institute and the Kootenai County Human Rights Task Force’s Public-Private Partnership called the “Human Rights Consortium,” was a total disaster.
Violent Antifa activists, such as Robert John Stoms, were arrested and later released by local officials.
A second, violent Antifa activist was detained that day named Alissa Azar.
At the time of her arrest, Azar had been indicted in Portland Oregon for Felony Rioting, Use of Tear Gas and more.
Both Azar and Stoms were released by local officials the same day, and neither of these stories garnered any attention in the media.
What did get plenty of coverage by the local, and national media, was the arrest of 31 members of a White Nationalist group called Patriot Front who were pulled out of the back of a U-Haul van on Northwest Boulevard.
The group, Patriot Front, is led by a man named Thomas Rousseau.
Rousseau, and the other 31 members of Patriot Front have been charged with the misdemeanor offense “conspiracy to riot.” Rousseau and almost all of the other members of Patriot Front (except one) have pled not guilty to all charges.
Local conservative activists were quick to denounce the days events, while a false rumor quickly spread among citizens in North Idaho that the 31 detained members of Patriot Front were actually federal agents, perpetrating a “federal operation” or “psychological operation.”
Although it’s true that Patriot Front has been universally condemned by local conservatives and liberals alike, the allegation that they are federal agents has absolutely no merit. The group may be, and is most likely infiltrated by federal agents, and undercover Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) informants, but the 31 people who were arrested on June 11, 2022 were not in the employ of federal law enforcement.
These are REAL people from across the country who came to Coeur d’Alene to express their first amendment rights in public. We didn’t want them here, you didn’t want them here, literally everyone is upset because they came, but freedom of speech is, as the liberal activists in our town say, a “basic human right.”
Even the ACLU has defended the Free Speech Rights of contemptible individuals such as Richard Butler, the former leader of the North Idaho based Neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations.
A Brief Disclaimer
We are going to be (obviously) touching on some sensitive topics, and a distinction needs to be made between defending a person, a group or an ideology, and defending their inalienable Constitutional rights to freedom of speech.
The Idaho Tribune has been the only news outlet in Idaho consistently condemning Neo-Nazism, condemning the United States’ support of Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, and our outlet as a whole has condemned the anti-Christian ideology behind all of these groups, whether they’re coming from the Perverts in the Park, or from White Nationalists & Neo-Nazis.
We opposed the out-of-state activists who turned Coeur d’Alene into a freakshow then, and we still do now, and we want to make that abundantly clear.
There is also a difference between freedom of speech (even speech you oppose), and shaking your genitals for sexual purposes in front of children.
Freedom of speech is protected by the constitution. Shaking your genitals in front of children is patently against the law in Idaho, at least when prosecutors seek to uphold the law instead of playing politics.
The Idaho Tribune also opposes the weaponization of law enforcement, the FBI, and the leftist, SPLC-Backed takeover of our local government.
Recently, the Idaho Tribune released a whistleblower report about the criminal conspiracy by federal agencies to spy on and entrap law-abiding citizens who were exercising their right to freedom of speech during the Bundy Ranch Standoff in Nevada, and were wrongfully arrested and charged with bogus crimes.
The documents written by Lawrence Wooten revealed that the Government had withheld exculpatory evidence from the people who were charged in that case, and that (among other things) threat reports by law enforcement agencies that said Ammon Bundy was not a threat were thrown out in favor of a threat report by the Southern Poverty Law Center that was used to justify the arrest of citizens who spoke out against the military-style cattle impound operation in Nevada.
The reason we are mentioning all of this, is because we are seeing the same thing play out here in the Patriot Front trial that is currently underway now in Coeur d’Alene.
Our outlet will be demonized by the media and by SPLC-backed Left-Wing activists. We know this, and we’re calling it out up front.
Local and national media apparatchiks are actively seeking to cover up the corruption & malfeasance that has led to the waste of unfathomable resources, MILLIONS of Kootenai County Tax Dollars and has deprived 31 people their rights to freedom of speech and to due process in our courts.
The FBI’s Involvement With Pride In The Park
Shortly after the Idaho Tribune’s disclosure of the full 252 page Wooten II memo, we were put in touch with an FBI whistleblower - a former FBI agent named Kyle Seraphin.
Kyle Seraphin is the FBI whistleblower who published the memo detailing how the FBI was targeting Catholics across the United States using a threat report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Seraphin who has provided accurate information about the inner workings of the FBI in the past, Tweeted the following in November of 2022:
Most notably, Seraphin said:
“I have friends who are in Couer D'alene who refused to write a Search Warrant for PF [Patriot Front] phones because the PC [probable cause] didn't exist. FBI HQ removed the supervisor from his position.”
The Idaho Tribune can reveal that the FBI Senior Supervisory Resident Agent who, according to Seraphin, “refused to write a search warrant” to “exploit” the phones seized by Coeur d’Alene Police is Special Agent Zach Schoffstall.
A second source that will remain anonymous confirmed to the Tribune that Shoffstall was asked to write a warrant to procure data in the phones of the detained Patriot Front members.
After Shoffstall refused, he was punished. Sources tell the Tribune that he was sent on a “special assignment” to work at the FBI’s National Threat Operation Center, which is essentially a call center, where Schoffstall would ride a desk, instead of continuing his work in the field.
The Idaho Tribune was able to speak with Special Agent Schoffstall, who confirmed that he is no longer assigned to the Coeur d’Alene office because he is on a “temporary assignment,” and that he cannot disclose any further information.
A person with experience working in Federal Law Enforcement told the Idaho Tribune “If an SSRA was removed because he refused to sign a warrant, I mean, that's pretty f**king profound if you asked me.”
The Warrant Is Sealed — Nobody Has Seen It
In a court proceeding held on Tuesday July 18th, Thomas Rousseau’s public defender Kinzo Mihara vigorously argued that his client should be able to get data from his phone that depicts “the dress rehearsal from the day before” the events of June 11th.
However, the prosecution in all of these cases has not made these phones, nor the warrant that allowed the FBI to perform data extractions on the phones, available to the defense.
Mihara argued saying:
“We want media files from that phone… We have no evidence from the state of what was done, who did it when they did it, why they did it…
“Where is this search warrant? What search warrant? Which judge signed the search warrant? What was the material to be seized, the information to be looked for? Why don't we have it back? In a recent case I have search warrant from here signed by your Honor. It's to seize a black box out of a truck. They seized the black box, they left the copy of the warrant. If you're gonna grab physical items, our constitution demands it being pursuant to a warrant. And the criminal rules, both federal and state, cited to the court demand as copy of the warrant be turned over. We had no warrant from the state and we have no, we have no communications from law enforcement, which another judge in this court, judge Randalls expressly ruled to that. That's fair game. We asked for it. We want it, your Honor. We asked for it way back in February and it hasn’t been turned over.”
According to court records, the warrant is sealed and NOBODY, not even the Judge or the prosecuting attorney has seen this warrant.
According a brief filed by Mihara in the case, “local law enforcement turned over the data without ever even seeing a copy of the alleged warrant - thus, not even knowing whether there was truly an active, legitimate warrant which was signed by a federal judge.”
The Honorable Judge John Cafferty, who is presiding over Rousseau’s case, approved several motions made by Mihara that will force the State to turn over evidence that has thus far been withheld.
Cafferty said:
“I think Mr. Mihara hit nails squarely on the head. We have representations, we have argument, we have no facts. Um, I have no facts leave to believe that chain of custody reports can't be produced as such.
“I have not, as Mr. Mihara noted, seen any factual recitation that ‘I'm a custodian of the records. This is all the records I have.’ I haven't seen any type of declarations that are under penalty of perjury where the penalty is such 14 years in prison. I haven't seen the declaration from an attorney putting his bar license on the line. I've heard arguments. That's not persuasive to the court. It's not facts.”
“…based on the arguments of Mr. Mihara, I'm granting the motion to compel.”
Judge Cafferty continued, outlining concerns about potential Brady and Youngblood violations. These types of violations have to do with the state withholding or destroying exculpatory evidence, or denying the defense due process in court. Cafferty reasoned that the state cannot be relieved of its duties under Brady by either not reviewing the information, or turning a blind eye, or by giving the information to a third party, allowing the state to argue that they “don't have it, therefore we don't have to disclose it.”
The judge argued that if the phones are not produced that the state would be liable for due process violations as well as Brady violations.
At this point the city’s deputy prosecuting attorney, Ryan S. Hunter, became visibly agitated and had to be told by the Judge “Mr. Hunter, you're done argument. You can sit down.”
Ryan S. Hunter, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Coeur d’Alene
While the rest of the media continues parroting along the talking points which haven’t changed since the day of the arrests, there is some serious pressure building behind the scenes in this case.
Who Signed The Warrant?
The Idaho Tribune spoke with a representative from the United States Department of Justice, Coeur d’Alene office to get a better understanding of what all of this might mean.
“So Josh Hurwitz is the US attorney, which is kind of like, you know, he's the CEO of the law firm. And then so every district only has one US attorney who then, uh, manages what's called assistant US attorneys. And so when you hear about federal prosecutors, generally that refers to these assistant US attorneys. And we have four of those in our office up here in Coeur d'Alene.
“The branch manager of our office is assistant US Attorney Tracy Whelan.
“All, search warrants or arrest warrants are signed by the assistant US attorney prosecuting the case and then the judge that issues the warrant.
“FBI agents are law enforcement who can sign affidavits, which are essentially statements of fact to support, you know, a judge needs to have certain information given to him in order to justify the issuing of a warrant. So an FBI agent doesn't make a determination of probable cause. An FBI agent would just give an affidavit of the facts that they know. Then the assistant US attorney prosecuting the potential case would say, would make a determination, okay, ‘there is probable cause here or there isn't.’ If they determine that there is, then they would take the warrant to the judge, and the judge makes the final determination of whether there is in fact probable cause for issuing a warrant.”
According to several lawyers, and according to Kyle Seraphin’s whistleblower testimony, an FBI agent must have signed off on that warrant, however no affidavit or declaration from any FBI agents have been filed in the case.
Seraphin alleged that the U.S. Attorneys got another FBI agent to sign the warrant, and that the Federal prosecutor who brought that warrant before the judge did not make it known that SSRA Schoffstall refused to sign off on that warrant.
To be clear: We do not know which judge signed this warrant. We don’t know which prosecutor signed this warrant. We don’t know which FBI agent signed this warrant. But we will know now that Judge Cafferty has compelled discovery.
An anonymous source told the Tribune “you have a prosecutor who's a s**t show.”
“I had heard the stories about the prosecutor who was attending the rally. And then … trying to prosecute people that were counter protesters… If you have a prosecutor up there who attended the f**ucking parade to support it, and then is now prosecuting the people that were against it. [They’re] a f**king witness. Not a, not a prosecutor… Why don't you send a request to DOJ and ask them about that?”
Meet Coeur d’Alene’s Prosecuting Attorney
The man ultimately responsible for prosecuting this case is Wes Somerton, Chief Criminal Deputy City Attorney for Coeur d’Alene Idaho.
Here is Wes Somerton explaining Coeur d’Alene’s new laws designed to prosecute people who refused to wear facemasks during the Covid Craze of 2020:
As readers of the Idaho Tribune will know, Coeur d’Alene is a liberal stronghold surrounded by the majority conservative, Christian areas of rural North Idaho.
At the time the above video was recorded, Steve Widmyer was Coeur d’Alene’s Mayor. Here’s a photo of Mr. Widmyer at a Pride event in June, 2016 that was put on by the same people who are responsible for the 2022 debacle:
The Mayor and City Council are responsible for picking the attorneys for the City of Coeur d’Alene, and considering the left-wing, pro-gay bent of the Council and current Mayor, it shouldn’t be any surprise what milieu Somerton comes from.
Dan Gookin has marched in the gay parade:
CDA City Counselor Dan Gookin
Dan English has sponsored a booth at Pride in the Park:
City Councilor Dan English’s booth at Pride In The Park 2022
And then there’s Christie Wood…
Tony Stewart, Christie Wood, Norm Gissel - Kootenai County Task Force On Human Rlations
Christie Wood is the head of a local “human rights” group which has serious ties to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and which is primarily responsible for the far-left direction that Coeur d’Alene has taken.
The current Mayor is also on board with this agenda, signing a proclamation in support of the Gay Pride event in Coeur d’Alene in 2023.
The day of the arrests, Hammond also praised the SPLC for helping “completely rid ourselves” of the Aryan Nations, saying that the people with POWER in Coeur d’Alene will “do everything [they] can” to “stay past those kinds of problems.”
This guy actually says that he’s a Republican.
Coeur d’Alene’s prosecuting attorney, Wes Somerton, has consistently declined to prosecute known leftist agitators for crimes they were seen committing, such as the alleged wardrobe malfunction at last years pride event, the assault of a citizen by a North Idaho College employee, among other things…
Coeur d’Alene’s liberal establishment has been well documented at this point, and we plan on going into deeper detail in subsequent articles.
Coeur d’Alene’s SPLC-Backed Public-Private Partnership
There is a reason why Coeur d’Alene has been tyrannically ruled by crazed leftists in the past several years, and that is primarily because of a public-private partnership that has been established by the Human Rights Education Institute and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.
Documents revealed by a records request submitted by independent journalist Casey Whalen revealed the existence of this group just days before the fateful Pride in the Park event in 2022.
Just prior to the Pride in the Park event, the email shows how “PRIDE and 4th of July Marketing” were on the list of topics to be covered by this consortium.
Members of the consortium include:
Human Rights Education Institute - Jeannette Laster
Idaho State Police - Michelle Beach
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Bryant Gunnerson
Coeur d'Alene Police - Captain David Hagar
Coeur d’Alene City Council - Amy Evans & Dan English
North Idaho Pride Alliance - Sarah Lynch
Kootenai Democrat Party/NIC - Brian Seguin (Democrat Party Chairman)
Idaho Human Rights Commission - Benjamin Earwicker
Kootenai Health - Benjamin Mandel & Kim Anderson
Many more are a part of this groups far reaching network, with over 100 entities listed on the Human Rights Education Institute’s website.
Most interestingly, the Consortium’s “law enforcement partners” were not disclosed on their website.
One of the most notable outcomes of this public-private partnership, was an event hosted by the United States’ Department of Justice, when none other than Tracy Whelan, the assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Coeur d’Alene office took to the stage along side members of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.
The most disturbing thing about this event, is seeing the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations’ logo listed along side the Department of Justice and the FBI, as if they were some kind of law enforcement agency themselves.
We do know that Jeanette Laster, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Education Institute, and the de-facto organizer of the consortium was forwarded an email that was sent by “Redoubt Antifascists” detailling “intelligence” that had been gathered on law-abiding citizens of Kootenai County, that was used by the Coeur d’Alene Police as evidence to prepare for the Pride in the Park event in 2022.
Although that document is no longer available on the Property of the People website that originally released it, it is still on the Internet Archive. The article written by the Idaho Tribune at the time is still available as well.
Whatever you may think of Patriot Front, their politics, their ideology, their uniforms, isn’t what matters. What the members of Patriot Front believe, also doesn’t matter.
What matters is that the City of Coeur d’Alene has a cabal of far-left, SPLC acolytes that are willing to look the other way on violent crimes when its a leftist doing it, and on the other hand, that will break the rules and break procedure to prosecute their enemies: anyone who they label a “white nationalist” or some other derogatory name.
The amount of source materials on this is massive, and the Idaho Tribune has a full copy of all documents involved in the case.
You can download them all by clicking here, or below:
This article is now WAY too long, and we are going to post more information about Project Blacklisted, and more about the extent to which Southern Poverty Law Center, and their affiliate organizations have weaponized American Law enforcement, turning it into their own private Stasi, or Secret Police.
We paid around $300 for all the court documents, and we really don’t have an operating budget. Please DONATE to us to help us continue reporting about what’s really happening in North Idaho, or you can buy a subscription below. Anything helps.
What we do know is that this trial, and the associated law enforcement presence devoted to protecting perverts in our park have surpassed $1,000,000 in taxpayer funds, and this trial could cost Kootenai County residents up to $3 Million in the end. If these 31 members of Patriot Front have been wronged by the Human Rights Consortium, the City of Coeur d’Alene, the Police and the FBI, it’s going to cost a whole lot more….