The FBI is assisting local police in their investigation, according to FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Yi Barker. Barker said the Coeur d’Alene police are the main law enforcement agency investigating the situation. The detainees all wore similar Patriot Front-related clothing, including identical badges, and were in possession of at least one smoke, police said. It was still being processed at the time of the press conference and has not yet been identified. White said the group was equipped with “shields, shin guards and other riot equipment with them”, along with documents he described as “similar to a business plan that a police or military team would draw up for an event”. The 31 were arrested in connection with the plot, which is a misdemeanor, White said, adding that the suspects came from at least 11 states. The operation in Coeur d’Alene began when an concerned citizen informed police that “about 20 people jumped into a U-Haul. They had shields and looked like a small army,” White said. There was no violence or significant disturbance before the arrests were made, White said, adding, “Today it turned out to be relatively smooth overall.”
