Patriot Front, a Texas-based group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) defines as white supremacist, is increasing its activity in several cities in the state, including Houston, according to a report that the ADL released this week.
The group, a so- called alt-right organization, is led by 19-year-old Thomas Ryan Rousseau, according to the ADL.
Patriot Front, which “espouses racism, anti-semitism and other types of hatred under the guise of preserving the "ethnic and cultural origins" of their European ancestors,”the report says, split from Vanguard America (VA) in late August 2017, several months after VA participated in a white supremacist rally on the capitol steps in Austin.
Patriot Front uses flyers, banners and posters, as well as social media platforms –such as their Twitter account— to convey its messages.
https://twitter.com/FrontPatriot/status/941078940143226883
Dena Marks, an associate director of the ADL’s Southwest Region office, said Patriot Front has been active for about four and a half months and “within the last few weeks, they’ve really ramped up their university activity in San Antonio, hanging banners at UTSA, at Trinity University and at a couple of community colleges.”
Back in September, Patriot Front members attended an anarchist book fair held in Houston. They showed a banner that read “Blood and Soil” and they chanted extremist comments. In October, the group displayed a banner that read “For race and nation” on a Houston freeway overpass.
Besides Houston and San Antonio, Patriot Front has been active in Austin, Dallas and San Marcos.