FARGO (KFGO) – A federal judge has granted a motion by Fargo plaintiffs in a human rights violation claim against the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front to serve notice of the case via publication after attorneys for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition and the Immigrant Development Center say they have been unable to locate any of the named defendants.
Federal law requires personal service of a summons and complaint but allows for service by publication in certain circumstances. Plaintiffs attorneys in the case say they have been unable to locate any physical addresses associated with Patriot Front or at which to make personal service on individual defendants Thomas Rousseau, Patriot Front’s founder, or Trevor Valescu, the group’s regional director.
According to the suit, under the leadership of Rousseau, Texas-based Patriot Front has targeted events and artwork honoring Black and Jewish people, the LGBTQ+ community, and New Americans across the country. Also known as “Johnny MN,” Valescu serves as Network Director for Patriot Front’s Network 11, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
The plaintiffs’ motion said their attorneys have hired a private investigator to assist with locating and serving Rousseau and Valescu and made multiple unsuccessful attempts to serve Valescu at his last known address in the southern Minnesota town of Faribault.
Arthur Ago is with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C. and one of a number of attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case. He says the legal team was prepared for this possibility as it is common strategy of groups like Patriot Front.
“Organizations like Patriot Front ironically like to be seen but they don’t like to be identified. They want to remain anonymous, and therefore avoid responsibility for the harms that they cause. We will continue to use this case in particular to find out the identities of the people who harmed our clients,” Ago says.
Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal granted the plaintiffs motion on Tuesday. The court order says, in accordance with North Dakota Rule of Civil Procedure, plaintiffs must publish the summons three times, once each week for three consecutive weeks, in a newspaper published in Cass County. The order also extended the time allowed to serve the named defendants to February 20, 2024.
The case, first filed in early September, claims individuals affiliated with and acting on behalf of Patriot Front trespassed onto the property of Fargo’s International Market Plaza multiple times in 2022 and vandalized the building with stencils advertising Patriot Front’s website which is, “littered with racist and xenophobic propaganda.” The suit also claims the defendants destroyed murals that portrayed people of color, causing shopkeepers and patrons at the plaza to fear for their safety. The complaint says Patriot Front’s actions were intended to cause fear and deprive others – especially immigrants of color – of their rights.
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