Two members of the neo-nazi group Patriot Front face new misdemeanor charges stemming from the destruction of a gay pride mural last October. Colton Michael Brown, 23, and Spencer Thomas Simpson, 20, both face charges of Aiding & Abetting or ‘Complicity With’ Graffiti. Brown, who uses the alias ‘ND – John WA‘ within Patriot Front, is the fascist group’s Network Director for Pacific Northwest (‘Network 8’) states including Washington and Oregon. Simpson goes by ‘David WA‘ in leaked Patriot Front chat logs. Both men were also arrested last month on Conspiracy/Riot charges along with 29 other members of Patriot Front who were en route to confront a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Leaked Patriot Front video files and voice meetings released in January by Unicorn Riot strongly implicate the two young men covering over the mural on a city-owned building which read “Respect & Love Olympia” on October 16, 2021. (At least six other members not currently charged were also involved.) Simpson is free without bail on the condition he avoid all contact with Colton Brown except via his attorney. Brown, Patriot Front’s Network 8 Director, did not show up for court in person or via Zoom and had a bench warrant issued for his arrest. He will have to post a bond of $1,000 to be freed once arrested on the bench warrant. Simpson and Brown’s no-contact order and Brown’s new warrant, issued while both men still face Conspiracy/Riot charges in Idaho, point to a future of legal troubles for the neo-nazi group now implicated in dozens of hate-motivated crimes around the USA. According to Seattle-area news station KING5, local prosecutors may add hate crime charges to Brown and Simpson’s cases at a later date. Anna Schlecht of the group “Unity in the Community” helped put up the pride mural in 2014 after anti-gay hate crimes in the area. Schlect told KING 5 reporters that the neo-nazis who defaced the mural “are just low down dirt dogs” who should have to pay restitution. In a Supplemental Report filed along with charging documents in the case, Olympia Police investigator Jacob Theis wrote that “it is evident that the vandalism was an act of discrimination and an offense against the LGBTQ+ community in Olympia.”
via unicornriot: Two Patriot Front Members Charged For Defacing Gay Pride Mural