A Massachusetts judge ordered a white supremacist group based in North Texas and its leader to pay $2.75 million to a Black man who suffered injuries from the group’s members during a Boston “flash march” in 2022.
Charles Murrell III, a musician and activist, will receive compensation from the Patriot Front for his physical and psychological injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages and future earnings, and punitive damages, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani decided on Monday.
The Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center classify Patriot Front as a white supremacist organization, and Alex Horn, regional director of ADL Texoma, told the Observer that the decision might destabilize Patriot Front.
“We applaud U.S. District Judge Talwani’s decision because the ruling makes it clear that hate-based violence will not be tolerated,” Horn said in a statement. “While it remains to be seen if this case will have a major impact on this group’s future, civil cases have historically been a critical component in dismantling the operations of hate groups in the United States.”
According to court documents, Murrell was walking through the Back Bay district of Boston on the Fourth of July weekend in 2022 when he came across approximately 100 Patriot Front members marching near the public library. The group marched without a permit, carrying shields, flags, and placards that said “RECLAIM AMERICA.”
According to the records, as Murrell approached the marchers, Patriot Front members yelled at him, slammed him against a light pole, and knocked him to the ground. Murrell informed authorities that Thomas Rousseau, the founder of Patriot Front and a Grapevine native and Coppell High School alumnus, gave commands to the perpetrators as they punched and kicked him. He stated that he “thought he was going to die” during the attack.
A detective with the Boston Police Department’s Civil Rights Unit determined that the attack was “more likely than not motivated in whole or in part by anti-Black bias,” according to court filings. Patriot Front is considered by the Anti-Defamation League to be “the most prolific spreader of white supremacist content nationwide,” as it subscribes to and promotes anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Black, and antisemitic views.
“Murrell’s attackers showed no remorse for their actions,” Talwani wrote. “Instead, Patriot Front and Rousseau glorified the attack by posting a video online with a clip of the group pinning Murrell against the light post and pushing him into the busy road, to promote the view that non-white individuals like Murrell should be subordinated to white people.”
According to court filings, Murrell had lacerations on his hand and head, as well as bruising on his arms and face, following the incident. Murrell’s attorneys claim that the hand damage has permanently limited his ability to perform musical instruments for extended periods of time. A psychologist discovered that Murrell has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder since the incident, all of which “impact his ability to function.”
Murrell told Boston television station WCVB that history drove him to file a case against Patriot Front despite the psychological effects of the attack.
“My grandparents talked about their parents being hunted by the Klu Klux Klan. That was the clarity of why I had to do this really small thing,” Murrell said.
Rousseau founded Patriot Front after splitting from Vanguard America, a white supremacist organization that helped plan the Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, which killed one woman.
The group has emerged as a leading distributor of supremacist propaganda masquerading as patriotism. Rousseau, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, sharpened his far-right ideas and communication abilities while writing for Coppell High School’s student newspaper, The Sidekick.
Since the group’s inception in 2017, numerous North Texas localities have reported Patriot Front-led sticker and pamphlet campaigns promoting anti-immigrant, nationalistic views. Many other cities throughout the country have reported “flash marches” identical to the one held in Boston, prompting experts to warn of the group’s growing prominence.
