The Neo-fascist hate group Patriot Front is being slammed for "inserting itself" into disaster relief efforts in Texas, according to The Guardian.
Leader Thomas Rousseau, a Texas native, announced in a video message on Telegram that his "activists" were “responding to the flooding, which has destroyed communities and taken the lives of scores of Americans."
Rousseau added that his group "is prioritizing their 'people' and 'European peoples' in those operations," the report said.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism told The Guardian she wasn't surprised to see Patriot Front "inserting itself into disaster relief in Texas."
“The group was founded there, and like other extremist groups, they want to take advantage of relief efforts to mainstream their ideas, present themselves as non-threatening and helping the community, and ultimately use what they hope will be positive PR to recruit and grow," she said.
"Beirich noted that everyone from Klansmen to armed militias have seen value in public appearances providing disaster aid," the report said.
Beirich continued, "We’ve seen David Duke do this in the past, and more recently Veterans on Patrol inserted themselves into the relief efforts in Asheville after last year’s hurricane. The concern is that it works – and Patriot Front’s white supremacist agenda gets laundered as positive, and that helps them spread hate and recruit.”
Patriot Front was founded in 2017 following the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has been named a "Designated Hate Group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center watchdog group.
According to SPLC, Rousseau "led VA members during 'Unite the Right,' including James Alex Fields, Jr., the young man accused of murdering anti-racist protester Heather Heyer after fatally driving his vehicle into a crowd of protesters."
Rousseau was indicted for his participation, but took an Alford plea and served no jail time.
