At least one man from Illinois among dozens of arrested at Pride event

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Authorities arrested dozens of masked men near an Idaho pride event Saturday after they were found in the back of a U-Haul truck wearing clothes similar to members of a white supremacist group.

Local and Idaho State Police stopped the truck in downtown Coeur d'Alene and the back was filled with evidence bags from police. The men also had what appeared to be a homemade riot shield and some protective equipment, KTVB reported. It was not immediately clear why the truck was stopped.

The several dozen men inside the truck wore khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white balaclavas covering their faces -- similar to Patriot Front, which is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist group. 

"It appears these people did not come here to engage in peaceful events," Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told a Coeur d'Alene Press reporter.

Little information about the group was available on Saturday afternoon outside of social media posts and authorities had not yet released any details. A news conference was planned for Saturday.

Videos of the arrest posted on social media show the men kneeling on the grass with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.

"Reclaim America" was written on the back of one shirt.

The truck was stopped on near where the North Idaho Pride Alliance was holding the Coeur d'Alene Pride in the Park event. Police had stepped up their presence in the area during the event.

Dozens of police officers surrounded the group and they were taken one by one to patrol cars, where their masks, hats and sunglasses were removed. They were then led to a police van.

Those arrested came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas, White said.