(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Patriot Front was out and about over the weekend in Charleston, West Virginia, sparking the regular online commentary about whether the right-wing nationalist group is comprised of “feds.”
At front and center of the Charleston march was Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau, who was recently arrested—under extremely dubious charges—for his participation in the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.
Charleston, West Virginia
Patriot Front marching through the streets
— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) April 27, 2024
That criminal charge isn’t the only legal woe for Rousseau. Last week, a judge entered a notice of default against Rousseau in a civil lawsuit he and the Patriot Front face from a man who claims he was assaulted by the group—an allegation vigorously denied by Patriot Front lawyer Jason Lee Van Dyke.
According to some of the plaintiffs suing the Patriot Front, Rousseau had gone “underground” in an attempt to avoid the civil litigation.
Plaintiffs were finally able to find Rousseau when he was arrested for his Charlottesville involvement—serving him with the lawsuit personally at McLennan County Jail in Waco, Texas.
But even after being served, Rousseau declined to answer the lawsuit, leading to a judge finding him to be in default—meaning that Rousseau is now barred from defending himself.
This marks at least the second time Rousseau has defaulted in a civil lawsuit. He also defaulted last July in a civil lawsuit against the Patriot Front for vandalizing a mural honoring black tennis star Arthur Ashe.
It’s not clear why Rousseau has chosen not to answer the lawsuits when some of his codefendants and fellow Patriot Front members have mounted defenses. While attorney Jason Lee Van Dyke has called the lawsuits frivolous, the Patriot Front hasn’t responded to questions from this reporter about Rousseau’s defaults.
It hasn’t been all bad news for Rousseau. Last October, an Idaho judge tossed a case against him that stemmed from June 2022, when 31 members of the right-wing nationalist group were arrested after someone reported seeing people loading into a U-Haul van like “a little army” at a hotel parking lot in Coeur d’Alene.
The judge tossed that case after prosecutors flaunted rules that required them to provide the defendant with possibly exculpatory evidence.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
