BISMARCK, N.D. — A settlement has been reached between two North Dakota nonprofit organizations and a white nationalist hate group known as Patriot Front, following a lawsuit in which the nonprofits accused the group of intimidating immigrant business owners. The specifics of this settlement have not been disclosed, as attorneys for both sides are remaining tight-lipped after a recent court conference held in Fargo.
In their legal filing in 2023, the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition and the Immigrant Development Center, along with the center’s executive director, brought a lawsuit against Patriot Front, its leaders, and several unnamed individuals. They alleged the group violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, among other accusations, and sought damages that were intended to be established in court, as well as other forms of relief.
The plaintiffs’ complaint asserted that members of Patriot Front engaged in vandalism against businesses and public property over recent years. Notable examples include the defacement of the International Market Plaza—an indoor marketplace serving immigrant business owners in Fargo—where the group’s symbols were spray-painted onto the premises. The lawsuit also claimed that a mural featuring Black women in hijabs was vandalized.
Previously, a federal judge dismissed some claims directed at specific Patriot Front leaders, namely Thomas Rousseau and Trevor Valescu. This week, an assistant to the attorney representing the hate group, Jason Lee Van Dyke, indicated that he was unable to provide any comments regarding the settlement. Meanwhile, the legal representative for the plaintiffs stated that they were unable to comment immediately on the matter.
The Ku Klux Klan Act has surfaced in other lawsuits as well, notably a case brought by several Democratic members of Congress against former President Donald Trump related to the events of January 6, 2021, which involved the disruption of the U.S. Capitol. Recently, a federal court awarded a Black man over $2.7 million in a lawsuit invoking this civil rights law against Patriot Front, Rousseau, and others, stemming from a racially charged assault he suffered in Boston in 2022.
Patriot Front, which distinguishes itself from Vanguard America—a group associated with the violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017—has been described as adopting provocative tactics including public marches and distributing racist propaganda. Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, highlighted how such publicity initiatives serve to project a theatrical image to attract attention.
The outcome of the North Dakota lawsuit may have broader implications for Patriot Front’s ability to recruit new members due to the accountability established through legal action. Carroll Rivas noted that a reduction in active participants would serve as a positive development in combating hate groups like Patriot Front.
