Charlottesville, Virginia – Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau was arrested over a felony warrant out of Virginia this weekend, making him the latest in a long list of pro-White activists still being prosecuted for events allegedly stemming from the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Rousseau, the revered nationalist figure known for his cowboy aesthetics and grand, drum-led marches throughout the United States, was booked into McLennan County jail on Friday evening.

Thanks to an ancient anti-Klan law that prosecutors allege Rousseau broke during the iconic torchlit march, he could face up to five years in prison if convicted. In response, his organization has called it a “7-year witch hunt” by “politically motivated prosecutors.”

“(Rousseau’s) arrest comes after a nearly 7-year witch hunt by politically motivated prosecutors, stemming from the events that transpired at the Unite the Right rally in 2017,” read a statement from Patriot Front made to its official telegram page. “Rousseau faces a fabricated felony charge for ‘Burning Objects with Intent to Intimidate.’”

“This is the burden that American patriots must bear. Patriot Front will continue to organize and work in the nation’s cause unimpeded,” it continued.

While Unite the Right may have ended over seven years ago, high-profile politicians, prosecutors, and other anti-White extremists have continued to use the event to attack all of its roughly 300 attendees. In the Spring of 2023, it was announced that a new series of indictments by the Albemarle County Attorney’s Office were being doled out to those alleged to have “burned an object with the intent to intimidate.”

So far, the lives of numerous pro-White attendees have been held in limbo over the alleged crimes, said to have occurred on Aug. 11, 2017, the night of the tiki torch march through the grounds of the University of Virginia. Since there is no statute of limitations on felonies in Virginia, prosecutors hoping to capitalize on the charge have all the time in the world to prepare their cases.

Despite this advantage, the all-out legal attack against White nationalism has not been without speed bumps. So far, the Albemarle County Attorney’s office has been forced to recuse itself from the case, after it was revealed that prosecutor Lawton Tufts and Chief Judge Claude Worrell were enthusiastic members of the anti-White extremism movement, commonly referred to as “Antifa.”

According to Charlottesville lead organizer and citizen journalist Jason Kessler, both Worrell and Tufts were participants on the Antifa side of the Unite the Right rally. Tufts was said to have been a “legal advisor” for the anarchists, while Judge Worell was alleged to have been an on-the-ground counterprotester himself. A third judge, Cheryl Higgins, was also said to have recused herself from a case against pro-White activist Jacob Dix, for allegedly marching on behalf of Antifa as well.

Thanks to social media posts unearthed by Kessler, it was also revealed that Judge Worell’s wife Kathryn Loughon—an early cheerleader for the burning with intent to intimidate charges—openly ascribed to “Antifa” ideology, and even once proclaimed to “hate White people,” despite being one herself.

Kessler asserts that this research has played a pivotal role in the “narrative collapse” of the state’s ongoing Charlottesville cases, and the conflict of interest could see all of the accused—including Thomas Rousseau—walk free.

“Honestly I do kind of hate white people.”

Kathryn Loughon, wife of Chief Judge Claude Worrell

“All of the defendants will have to individually succeed in removing the judges and prosecutors in their own cases,” explained Kessler on his personal Telegram page. “Before trial, there are several motions to dismiss floating around which, if successful, would nuke all the charges and even invalidate the one or two guilty pleas.”

“Further, the prosecutors may have an additional appeal option like trying to have the Virginia Supreme Court overturn the rulings.”

Patriot Front, the star-spangled nationalist org that made headlines for a recent march through downtown Manhattan, has been the target of numerous bad-faith attacks as of late. In January, “aspirationally Jewish” tech billionaire Elon Musk called for rank-and-file members of Patriot Front to be doxxed and “unmasked,” breathing life into a tired conspiracy that alleges Patriot Front is an “op” run by federal agents and/or their informants.

It would be the second time Musk cast “shade” towards masked activists, using his platform of X, formerly Twitter, to publically question their motives in front of millions of his conservative-leaning followers. Despite this, Patriot Front has continued to serve with distinction, often mobilizing to perform acts of community service to those in need.

To this day, no evidence has ever been provided to support the claim.

“Not only is Elon visiting Auschwitz and censoring anti-Israel accounts, he’s essentially telling his millions of followers to assault and dox members of Patriot Front,” said pro-White activist, artist, and podcaster, Emily Youcis on Telegram.

Rousseau’s unceremonious jailing over seven-year-old allegations is merely the latest act of lawfare currently targeting White nationalism’s most influential figures. Last week, Active Club and Rise Above founder Rob Rundo was released from custody and then rearrested after charges against him were dropped in a California court.

A federal judge had ruled that “selective enforcement” of the law meant that Rundo could not be tried for alleged violence which also dated back to 2017. Prosecutors successfully lobbied an appellate court to have Rundo placed back in custody out of fear of a flight risk, enraging a community that had long clamored for his release.

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