Patriot Front ordered to pay over $470K for defacing Arthur Ashe mural in Richmond, Virginia
This judgment could open them up to felony vandalism charges and potentially cost Thomas Rousseau and his members years of jailtime.
The Backstory - December 5th, 2022
Around October 18th 2021, Patriot Front members allegedly under the direction of Patriot Front leader, Thomas Rousseau, defaced a privately funded mural dedicated to Negro tennis player Arthur Ashe in Richmond, Virginia at a public park.1
Large portions of the mural—which featured two portraits of Arthur Ashe and descriptions of his achievements—had been covered in white paint, after which Patriot Front members used stencils to cover the mural with Patriot Front insignia and the words “Patriot Front.”
The Battery Park neighborhood that houses the public park with the mural is a predominantly Negro neighborhood—77.7% Negro and 17.5% White. Two of the plaintiffs, Sealed Plaintiff 1 and Sealed Plaintiff 2, decided to sue Patriot Front for the damage emotional distress and infringement on their rights. The plaintiffs argued that the result of Patriot Front’s actions had caused the plaintiffs and their children to substantially curtail their use of the public park or even outright eliminate any of their time in the public park out of fear and intimidation.
The plaintiffs brought this case against Patriot Front, some of its leadership, and its members (“Defendants”) who were responsible for, or conspiring in, the vandalization of the Arthur Ashe mural. The plaintiffs argued that Defendants violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
Sections 2 and 6 of the Klan Act, now codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985 and 1986, targeted anyone who committed racially motivated violence with impunity due to the “breakdown of law enforcement in the southern states.” Section 2 was “packed with provisions,” but for present purposes, the relevant language created criminal or civil liability:2
“if two or more persons . . . shall conspire together, or go in disguise upon the public highway or upon the premises of another for the purpose, either directly or indirectly, of depriving any person or any class of persons of the equal protection of the laws . . . or for the purpose of preventing or hindering the constituted authorities of any State from giving or securing to all persons within such State the equal protection of the laws . . . [and] one or more persons engaged in any such conspiracy shall do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance of the object of such conspiracy.”
Section 6, in turn, created a civil damages remedy for the failure to stop a section 2 conspiracy, providing:
“[t]hat [if] any person or persons, having knowledge that any of the wrongs conspired to be done and mentioned in the second section of this act are about to be committed, and having power to prevent or aid in preventing the same, shall neglect or refuse so to do, and such wrongful act shall be committed, such person or persons shall be liable to the person injured.”
The plaintiffs additionally alleged that the Defendants violated Virginia Code § 8.01-42.1 [Civil Action For Racial, Religious, Or Ethnic Harassment, Violence, Or Vandalism,3 which states:
“A. An action for injunctive relief or civil damages, or both, shall lie for any person who is subjected to acts of (i) intimidation or harassment, (ii) violence directed against his person, or (iii) vandalism directed against his real or personal property, where such acts are motivated by racial, religious, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnic animosity.
B. Any aggrieved party who initiates and prevails in an action authorized by this section shall be entitled to damages, including punitive damages, and in the discretion of the court to an award of the cost of the litigation and reasonable attorney fees in an amount to be fixed by the court.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any actions between an employee and his employer, or between or among employees of the same employer, for damages arising out of incidents occurring in the workplace or arising out of the employee-employer relationship.”
Since at least 2019, Patriot Front has been allegedly responsible for dozens of acts of property damage and defacement of public areas.
The plaintiffs alleged that Patriot Front and its members pursue a coordinated campaign of vandalism. They also alleged that Patriot Front’s leadership, including Thomas Rousseau, require members to publicly place a certain amount of Patriot Front stickers and spray-painted stencils in order to remain members in good standing. It was also alleged that members must purchase all Patriot Front stickers and stencils from Patriot Front’s leadership, specifically from Rousseau himself.
They also alleged that Patriot Front’s leadership, including Rousseau, require that members get Patriot Front regional and national leadership approval for any high-profile acts of vandalism.
The Defendants named in the civil case were Thomas Rousseau, Nathan Noyce (also known as “Roger VA”) Thomas Dail (also known as “Kenneth VA”), Paul Gancarz (also known as “Samuel VA,” then Patriot Front’s Network Director for the region covering Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Delaware), Daniel Turetchi (also known as “Grant MD”), Jacob Brown (also known as “John VA”), William Ring (also known as “Tyler MD”), Aedan Tredinnick (also known as “Vincent VA”), and John Doe 1 through 19.
The Story - April 1st, 2026
A federal judge has just ordered Patriot Front, its leader—Thomas Rousseau—and members William Ring (also known as “Tyler MD”) and Jacob Brown (also known as “John VA”) to pay over $470K in punitive damages after defacing the mural of Arthur Ashe in the Battery Park neighborhood.4
The mural, by Richmond artist Hamilton Glass, showcased the Negro tennis player and was funded by private donations.
The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2022 by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of 2 Sealed Plaintiffs of Battery Park.
Len Kamdang, director of the Criminal Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law had the following to say":
“This is a victory for justice and for accountability against hate. The ruling sends a strong message: Attacks on Black people and the communities they live in will not go unchecked. Being ordered to pay damages is only part of why the ruling is so important. The judge’s decision will bolster efforts to disrupt these networks and prevent future attacks.”
End of Story
Before committing to any kind of activism, I always tell The New Way members to look into the local laws to see what is and what isn’t acceptable. I understand that an audible sigh was just let out from a portion of the readers, but actions have real-life consequences and this is an example of them.
Smart activism looks like the banner drop that NSC-131 did back on July 30th, 2022, when members displayed “Keep New England White” banners from an overpass in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
After receiving several calls about the banners, police went to the site and observed approximately 10 men on the overpass dressed in hats, sunglasses, and face coverings that read “NSC-131” or “131.” Officers told one of the members that the banners could not be hung from the overpass without a permit. The banners were then removed, but as police left the scene, some members continued to display them by hand before returning to their vehicles to leave.
On January 17th, 2023, NH Attorney General John Formella’s office filed three civil complaints against NSC-131, Hood, and Leo Anthony Cullinan, another member of NSC-131. The complaints asserted that in addition to trespassing, the actions of Hood, Cullinan, and NSC-131 violated the state Civil Rights Act.
On June 6th, 2023, after Hood and Cullinan filed a motion to dismiss the complaints, a superior court judge did so, ruling that prosecutors’ interpretation of the state’s Civil Rights Act was unconstitutionally overbroad.5
Rockingham County Superior Court Judge David Ruoff wrote:
“The conduct alleged in the complaints, while reprehensible by most civilized standards, does not fit any definition of ‘trespass’ other than the one the Court has concluded is unconstitutional.”
In response, prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration. Leo Cullinan tragically passed away of a drug overdose before the reconsideration was dismissed.6
On January 10th, 2025, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the superior court’s dismissal, agreeing that the interpretation of the state Civil Rights Act put forth by prosecutors was unconstitutional and would punish individuals who unintentionally trespass on public property and whose presence was motivated by one of the characteristics mentioned in the law. Those characteristics include race, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability.7
So there are smart ways to do activism and very dumb ways to do activism. The key is to play the system like NSC-131 managed to do concerning the trespassing case.
While Patriot Front has done activism the right way before, the organization has also done activism in a very bad way and now it’s coming to bite them in the ass.
Patriot Front as an organization has widely documented propaganda quotas concerning stickering and graffiti that require members to potentially take part in acts of vandalism. This not only puts the organization in hot water legally, but more specifically the individual members that commit the acts of vandalism, potentially opening them up to heavy fines or jail time.
Patriot Front has publicly documented the organization promoting acts of vandalism by its members on numerous occasions. Ironically, it’s not just anti-White material they deface. They have even covered up the Hakenkreuz (German for "hooked cross"), a German Christian symbol going back to medieval Germany and what the Hitler called what we know as the swastika.8
Patriot Front as an organization openly documents acts of vandalism while using a lot of it to promote their organization.9 While some people would look at it and think it’s brave, it’s actually opening themselves to hundreds of incredibly damaging cases like the one they just lost in Richmond, VA.
It’s important to note that acts of vandalism are not considered acts of Free Speech under the 1st Amendment. Depending on the act of vandalism and what entity commits the act, it can legally be considered an act of violence. And this is why the counsel of the plaintiffs of the civil case argued this.
So let me break down what this essentially means for Patriot Front, Thomas Rousseau, William Ring (also known as “Tyler MD”) and Jacob Brown (also known as “John VA”).
Virginia Code § 18.2-137 is a criminal statute that defines and penalizes the unlawful destruction, defacement, or damage of property in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It applies to both public and private property and distinguishes between intentional and unlawful acts, setting corresponding penalties based on the value of the damage. A misdemeanor vandalism charge would equate to damage in the sum of less than $1,000 or certain negligent acts and the statute of limitations is 1 year. However, the felony threshold is any dollar amount at or over the sum of $1,000.10
Since the act of vandalism happened in 2021, the misdemeanor charge has hit its statute of limitation. However, a felonious act of vandalism has no statute of limitations. Meaning that years later a prosecutor could file charges. So, why is this important?
In the state of Virginia, the value of damage is the biggest factor, but it’s not the only factor. Deliberate acts of vandalism (especially those with political messages) to public property move the needle in terms of how serious prosecutors will take the act of vandalism. Especially because it was done by a White Nationalist organization in a predominantly black neighborhood. While the statute doesn’t specifically enhance penalties just for acting as a group, each participant can be charged individually, they can all be held responsible for the full damage amount, and prosecutors can add related charges (like conspiracy).
Because the civil case granted over $470K to the two plaintiffs, it now gives a prosecutor reason to file felony vandalism charges against Thomas Rousseau, William Ring, and Jacob Brown. This case also increases pressure on prosecutors to act because it potentially highlights the seriousness of the damage. Not only that, but the civil case also provides evidence already developed (documents, testimony, expert valuations). It’s important to remember that a prosecutor in Virginia can use the underlying evidence from the civil case to support that the conduct rises to a felony level, but they don’t rely on the civil judgment itself as proof.
While the amount granted to the plaintiffs might not be indicative of the damage’s dollar amount, it doesn’t really matter to prosecutors. Anything over $1,000 and it’s a felony. Because this was a privately funded mural that used professional artists, the amount to restore the artwork is up to their discrepancy.
If the damage is willful and the value equals or exceeds $1,000, the offense is treated as a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,500. Restitution can still be court ordered despite the civil case’s ruling. But that’s not the really important part.
The really important part is that not only could Thomas Rousseau, William Ring, and Jacob Brown face up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to $2,500, but the prosecution can go after every defendant that was involved in the civil case and they can potentially learn the identities of John Does 1-19. It’s actually not uncommon to see prosecutors wait for a civil case to end in order to start a criminal case.
Not only could their identities be revealed, but every single person that is proven to be part of the conspiracy could be facing 5 years in prison. This is just one of the many reasons why The New Way has never participated in graffiti and we look into local laws concerning stickering before we participate. These are rookie mistakes that supposedly professional organizations such as Patriot Front are still participating in, putting their members in jeopardy, begging the question “How did they become the standard?”
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Featuring a Foreword from Ardito and an Introduction by Vance Pollock.
Award-winning novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, William Dudley Pelley, had an astonishing 1928 spiritual awakening which further created one of the most charismatic and enigmatic figures of the 20th-century. Pelley famous, or rather infamous, for his prose and interest in unconventional topics, was the first figure in America to create a quasi Fascist/National Socialist organization with overt Christian ideology. His Silver Legion of America was the first of its kind, modeling itself on the NSDAP while establishing a unique concept he deemed the “Christian Commonwealth.”
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Saturday Blockbuster
Blood Covenant by Truth Nuke Media
The New Way in conjunction with Fifth Column Library is screening films relevant to our struggle each Saturday night at 8 pm EST.
This week we’re featuring Blood Covenant by Truth Nuke Media. Blood Covenant is a documentary that weaves together both the theology and history of the Christian Identity movement in the United States.
Introduction: 00:00:10
Chapter 1: The Adamic Race 00:04:12
Chapter 2: The Race of Cain 00:15:06
Chapter 3: Genesis of the Movement 00:35:13
Chapter 4: The Lost Tribes 00:45:59
Chapter 5: Racial Holy War 01:20:09
Chapter 6: The New Covenant 01:46:12
Total runtime: 2 hours.
Meh
The Patriot Front case featured the civil rights era "ku klux klan act" which describes as criminal the same acts done by thousands of BLM and Antifa terrorists over the last 10 years and there hasn't been a single charge under the act brought against them.
Those who engage in the unequal application of justice are guilty, period. It should be a capital offense, just like the rights violations under color of authority are.
Until judges, DAs, and juries who engage in this dereliction and malfeasance are routinely lined up and shot for it, nothing will change. They do it because they don't get any consequences. Let's change that.