Members of the group Patriot Front were accused of pinning a black man against a light post and forcing him off the sidewalk after calling him a racial slur.
BOSTON — A North Texas-based white supremacist group has been ordered to pay more than $27.5 million this week to a black man they are accused of attacking during a march they conducted in 2022 in Boston.
According to court documents, Thomas Rousseau of Grapevine and the group he founded, Patriot Front, were conducting an unpermitted “flash march” on the Fourth of July weekend in 2022 to promote a white supremacist agenda.
Walking down Boston’s sidewalks with face coverings and shields, the court document says members of the group shoved the victim, a Black musician, up against a light post into a busy street while he was walking down the sidewalk.
According to the court order, Rousseau and the group have been ordered to pay $755,000 in damages for his injuries, pain and suffering, and another $2 million in punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.
The lawsuit argues that Patriot Front, under Rousseau, has trained its members to be violent, and to organize “flash demonstrations” where members take over public streets and sidewalks in different cities without permits and march in formation with flags and shields.
According to the suit, Patriot Front began planning the Boston demonstration as early as December 2021 without seeking any permits or notifying the city. The demonstration took place on July 2.
The victim, a musician, was reportedly on his way to play saxophone outside the Boston Public Library when he heard the marchers’ snare drums and walked toward the sound, the court documents read. He reportedly heard one of the members of the group call him a racial slur. When he tried to walk past, the group reportedly pushed him back more than two car lengths as they yelled at him, “Do not break our ranks.” They then reportedly shoved him into the street and, after he stepped back onto the sidewalk, shoved him up against a concrete light post, and knocked him to the ground before hitting and kicking him.
According to the lawsuit, the group stopped and moved on as police arrived. Police told the victim they were monitoring the group and said they were aware of the group’s movements. No one was apprehended but an ambulance was called.
Officers followed the group to a U-Haul truck and wrote down the license plate number, which they later discovered was unregistered, the documents say.
According to the suit, Patriot Front later published a video of the attack on its website.
Murrell reportedly suffered cuts on his right finger, and to his head and left eyebrow, as well as bruises on his face and arms. He also reportedly suffered psychological damage and distress that have hurt his ability to earn a living and his ability to function.
The court found the victim was entitled to damages to compensate him for his physical and emotional injuries, as well as punitive damages, and that Rousseau and Patriot Front were liable.