Members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front tried to join an anti-abortion march in Chicago this weekend—only to get heckled by some of the demonstrators.
In videos posted to social media, more than a dozen Patriot Front members can be seen marching alongside people demonstrating in support of Chicago’s March for Life. The Patriot Front members wore matching, country club-esque uniforms of blue jackets and pale khakis, as well as hats and face coverings to obscure their identities. Many carried American flags and red-and-blue shields. The group’s banner read “Strong Families Make Strong Nations.”
Videos by VICE
In one video, a man demonstrating with March for Life can be seen asking, “What are you carrying shields for?”
“You guys are an embarrassment,” he added. “Put the shields down!”
“Who do you guys think you are?” another man demanded. One voice can be heard saying, “Bunch of fucking clowns who never grew up.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the cowboy hat-wearing Patriot Front founder Thomas Rousseau was also among the Patriot Front members present at the march. Rousseau formed the group, a splinter faction of the neo-Nazi group Vanguard America, in the wake of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Rousseau, who used to head the Texas chapter of Vanguard America, led Vanguard America members who showed up in Charlottesville.
Patriot Front took the explicitly neo-Nazi agenda of Vanguard America and repackaged it in Americana, with the goal of broadening their appeal and drawing in more recruits.
After leaving the March for Life, Patriot Front members unloaded their gear and took off in cars with taped-over license plates. Although the group is obsessed with optics and typically uses public appearances as marketing opportunities for slick propaganda videos, its members also place a high premium on secrecy.
The Proud Boys, another neo-fascist group, has also recently sought to align itself with abortion opponents: VICE News found that, in the last year, the group provided security to the anti-abortion “Stolen Voices Foundation.”
This isn’t the first time that Patriot Front has appeared at an anti-abortion event in Chicago, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The organization reported that people associated with Patriot Front have appeared at at least three anti-abortion demonstrations dating back to 2018.
