U-Haul bans Patriot Front members after trucks rented in KC for march
U-Haul International took swift action against members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front who rented its trucks to transport those participating in a march Saturday in downtown Kansas City, the company said Tuesday.
Those who signed the rental contracts are now prohibited from any future business with U-Haul, spokesman Jeff Lockridge said.
“Action was taken immediately by our teams on Saturday, May 24,” Lockridge said in a statement. “Once we received license plate numbers and confirmation that our equipment had been misused, the customers on the contracts were banned from doing business with us. They breached the terms of the rental contract by transporting people in the cargo area. They no longer have rental privileges.
“Of course, we do not support this group and what they represent. We have no desire to be affiliated with them in any way.”
Talk continued throughout Memorial Day weekend and into Tuesday after scores of masked Patriot Front members descended on Kansas City Saturday, holding a rally at the National WWI Museum and Memorial and marching downtown carrying flags and chanting. Many questioned why Kansas City police did not make any arrests or cite the group for transporting members in the U-Haul rental trucks.
Mayor Quinton Lucas on Tuesday defended the Kansas City Police Department’s handling of the event.
“Individuals have the right to come to our city and say just about anything under the sun, and what this department will do is make sure that everyone in our community is safe,” Lucas said at a Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting. “There was no escorting by KCPD. There was no prior planning. I didn’t know about it. The police chief didn’t know about it coming. None of us knew about it coming.
“And I stand against hate. I believe everybody in this department and on this board stands against hate in all of its forms. And to me, that is the full extent of it.”
Lucas acknowledged there had been criticism regarding police response. Some on social media accused police of escorting and even showing favoritism to the marchers.
“This department will make sure that folks’ constitutional rights are upheld and allow for the discourse in the public to exist as it will exist,” Lucas said. “I denounce these comments. Other people disagree with me. Other people have totally different things to say, but I think it’s important to make clear there was no escorting, there was no action by KCPD to further any type of action this weekend. They were just officers out doing their jobs.”
Deputy Police Chief Joe Mabin told commissioners that he wanted “to set the record straight” on what took place.
“But first, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, in no way supports the views of the white supremacist group that marched in our city. I personally find them abhorrent. As a member of KCPD, we have sworn to support and uphold the Constitution, and that includes the First Amendment, and we also have a duty to keep the peace.”
Mabin said the department “had no advance knowledge that up to 150 white supremacists were going to march in our city.”
“However, once we arrived, we also saw a social media post that suggested there were counter-protesters responding to the area, and that’s always a safety concern. Therefore, in an attempt to deescalate the situation, it was best that the members of the group left the area, and other than riding in the back of a U-haul, we were unaware of any other laws that they violated,” he said.
Police commissioners commend KCPD
Commissioners praised police for their response.
“I was at the World War I Museum and Memorial when that march began, and I just want to thank the department for the presence as they left World War I grounds and started making their way downtown,” said Commissioner Tom Whittaker. “There was a moment where I thought this could go in a bad way, and it did not, so I really appreciate the attention and the nuance in how that was handled.”
Commissioner Madeline Romious said that “if it were not for the professionalism of our team, that could have gone in a different direction that would have snowballed.”
“And just excellent work in managing that and having the officers in place and providing that,” she said. “ … There’s nothing illegal about protesting … but yet the officers are there in case something were to happen. So thank you for that.”
Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a Kansas City Police spokesperson, said late Saturday that police believed the participants were from out of town and it appeared the group did not need a parade permit for the event.
“A parade permit is not needed unless roadways need to be shutdown, and from information received at this point the group remained on the sidewalk and out of roadways,” she said.
Police did not respond to a question Tuesday about why they believed the participants were from out of town.
The Patriot Front is a white nationalist “and avowedly fascist nationwide organization” that was formed in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, according to the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.
On Saturday, the group’s members — faces covered and dressed in their signature navy shirts, khaki pants and tan caps — marched down the sidewalks chanting, “Life, liberty, victory” and “Reclaim America.” Some carried shields and many carried flags, including upside-down American flags, Betsy Ross flags and Confederate flags.
A video posted on X showed more than 150 marchers lined up in formation outside the National WWI Museum and Memorial as leader Thomas Rousseau — who appeared to be the only one not wearing a mask — gave a speech.
In a video posted later on X, Rousseau said that “today was the largest action we’ve ever put on as an organization.”
“It was remarkably successful, and we accomplished every single objective we set out to for the day.”
A spokesperson for the National WWI Museum and Memorial issued a statement Sunday afternoon denouncing the Patriot Front’s views.
“The National WWI Museum and Memorial is aware of yesterday’s gathering on the public grounds surrounding our institution,” said Karis Erwin, vice president of marketing and guest services. “We respect First Amendment protections for peaceful assembly and free speech, and want to be unequivocally clear that the views expressed by this group do not represent or align with our values. We stand firmly against hatred, bigotry and divisiveness in all forms.”
When the march was over, videos showed the members piling into several U-Haul trucks.
U-Haul’s spokesman said the company’s rental contracts only contain names of individuals, not groups.
“There are no names of activist organizations on our rental contracts,” Lockridge said. “There are only names of individual customers. Perhaps those individuals are renting on behalf of a group, and there is absolutely no way for us to know that.”
When someone reserves rental equipment, he said, “we do not ask the customer about their political affiliations, religious views, voting history, income level, educational background, housing situation, relationships, race, gender, sexual preferences, or any other private information that is none of our business.”
“Our customers reflect every walk of life and represent every demographic across the U.S. and Canada. If an individual is in good standing with us, we will rent to them. If an individual commits illegal acts using our equipment, misuses our equipment, or violates their rental contract, we reserve the right to take away their rental privileges. That happened in this instance.”
In June 2022, police arrested 31 Patriot Front members in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, after receiving a tip that men in face masks with riot gear were seen getting into a U-Haul outside a hotel. Police pulled the truck over near a park where an annual Pride event was to take place. Inside the truck, officers found a smoke grenade, shields and other gear as well as documents describing a plan to incite a disturbance at the park.
And last July, more than 100 Patriot Front members marched through downtown Nashville with faces covered, holding shields, with some carrying Confederate flags. Like in Kansas City, they were seen loading into U-Haul trucks. State and local police told the media they were aware of the group’s presence but that no criminal activity took place.
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 5:19 PM.
