Fort Worth – (WBAP/KLIF) – Fort Worth Police have identified the man responsible for placing ‘hate speech’ posters around the city earlier this month.
He’s been identified as 19-year-old Thomas Rousseau — an alt-right leader who heads the Patriot Front.
The signs he’s accused of posting on fire hydrants, lamp posts and news stands read “Reclaim America” and “Better Dead Than Red,” with a communist symbol underneath.
Patriot Front took responsibility for the signs on Twitter — Rousseau received a citation…the maximum amount is 500 dollars. Fort Worth Police addressed the situation with city council members on Tuesday.
When asked about protecting free speech Deputy Chief Robert Alldredge said it “depends on the interpretation of the person reading it. For us it’s a fine line that we walk, saying that free speech is protected as long as it does not incite violence or attack a particular group. He added, ”We still kind of have to protect the rights of everybody.” .
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:
“Rousseau grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, where he attended Coppell High School. While enrolled, he was involved with The Sidekick, the Coppell High School student newspaper where he was the staff cartoonist during his senior year. He also contributed to video production and wrote a number of opinion columns for the paper. This appears to be where the young white supremacist cultivated the propaganda production skills that propelled his rapid ascension into leadership on the racist right, first with Vanguard America and later with his founding of Patriot Front.”
The SPLC also says that Rousseau was also a Boy Scout aiming to become an Eagle Scout by age 18.
Rousseau is quoted as saying, “A nation within a nation is our goal. Our people face complete annihilation as our culture and heritage are attacked from all sides.”
— Patriot Front manifesto
The manifesto as reads, in part:
“The previous era has been spent broadening the definition of what an American is. The coming era will refine the definition of an American. To the American people our movement is revolutionary, yet familiar. We bring forth the traditions of our past imbued with new vigor to bring us closer to our grand vision. Our tradition is revolution, and our land is where tyrants come to die.”
Read more here.
(Copyright 2018 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
