Neo-fascist group claims it’s aiding in Texas flood recovery by helping ‘European peoples’

Right-wing extremist group Patriot Front claims it self-deployed last week to the Texas Hill Country to help people affected by the devastating floods, British paper the Guardian reports.

However, in an encrypted Telegram video, group leader Thomas Rousseau clarified that group isn’t there to just anyone. Instead, it will prioritize assisting its own “people” and “European peoples,” according to the Guardian.

“There are lots of volunteers across the region, but something sets us apart,” Rousseau said, according to a transcript provided by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “We are prioritizing the interest of our people in this mission…Our institutions have been corrupted and weakened… They do not love their people like a nationalist does. And they cannot serve this nation like only a nationalist can.”

Patriot Front was founded in 2017 following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A native Texan, Rousseau was charged with his involvement in that rally. He also has a history of making anti-Semitic comments.

The ADL accused Rousseau and the Patriot Front of exploiting the Texas tragedy, which has so far taken the lives of more than 130 people. ADL officials say the neo-fascist group is using its trip to the Lone Star State to create promotional content and recruit new members.

“When it comes to actually providing support to communities in need, extremist efforts are typically small, disorganized,” the ADL wrote in a statement. “At times, they have even impeded the efforts of trained relief workers and created additional problems for law enforcement, diverting their attention from providing support in critical moments.”

Last year, the Patriot Front deployed to the Florida Gulf Coast and the Carolinas after the devastation of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“We’ve seen [white supremacist politician] David Duke do this in the past, and more recently, Veterans on Patrol inserted themselves into the relief efforts in Asheville after last year’s hurricane,” Heidi Berich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told the Guardian.

“The concern is that it works — and Patriot Front’s white supremacist agenda gets laundered as positive, and that helps them spread hate and recruit,” Berich added.

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.