The white nationalist group Patriot Front and its leader, Thomas Rousseau, have been hit where it hurts most in a civil rights violation ruling.
On Jan. 13, a federal judge ordered the extremist group from Grapevine, Texas, to pay $2.7 million in damages to Charles Murrell, an African-American man who was attacked when he happened upon the white supremacist group in Boston in July 2022.
The classically trained musician, who is also a former special education teacher, was on his way to play saxophone outside the Boston Public Library when he saw a group of masked men marching toward him on the sidewalk.
Identically dressed in caps, sunglasses, and khakis, they carried military gear, including makeshift shields, and wore shirts with the slogan, “Reclaim America.”
According to the police report, Murrell began recording the group on his cellphone when they suddenly swarmed him, and yelled racist slurs like “tar baby” before knocking him to the ground. He sustained lacerations to his head, eyebrow, and finger and was rushed by ambulance to Boston Medical Center for treatment.
“I thought I was going to die,” Murrell recalled during a hearing in October 2024 to determine damages. He blacked out during the assault but later saw photos of himself on social media being slammed up against a street pole with a metal shield.
Murrell brought the civil rights suit in August 2023, and a judge found Patriot Front and Rousseau both liable for the attack after they failed to respond to the complaint, court records show. They’re ordered to pay $2 million in punitive damages and $755,000 in damages for his injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages, and future earnings. They must also pay Murrell’s attorneys’ fees, which have not yet been determined.
The 37-year-old “deeply appreciates” the judgment and hopes his lawsuit will give others “the courage and motivation and inspiration to push through and find accountability against those who commit acts rooted in hate,” read a statement by Foley Hoag attorney James Gross via the Boston Globe.
The judgment “sends an unequivocal message that such behavior is not tolerated in the United States and that those who engage in such un-American conduct will be held accountable,” Gross added.
As soon as the news broke, however, conspiracy theorists and supporters of the Patriot Front kicked into high gear on social media.
“Agent provocateur 101. The individual was deliberately put there to disrupt a peaceful march by provoking an altercation. Standard FBI tactics,” someone conjectured on X, implying Murrell secretly works for the U.S. government. Another added, “The dude was probably paid to do it so they could try to bankrupt the group.”
Meanwhile, others are skeptical that Murrell will ever see the money he’s entitled to.
“Put all these guys together and they probably couldn’t afford a double latte at Starbucks. I doubt if many have responsible, well-paying jobs. Otherwise, why would they have so much time to parade around in the woods pretending to be soldiers and fomenting hate against people?” wrote one observer.
“They’ll have to wait to their mothers social security check comes,” quipped one person.
“Why do they always hide their faces?” asked another, pointing out the fact that many of the marchers were unidentified. In the lawsuit’s complaint, the unnamed defendants are referred to as “John Does 1-99.”
Ever since the attack, Murrell has been haunted by nightmares, anxiety, and emotional distress, read court documents. While he has not given up street performing, he says he no longer feels comfortable playing music for crowds. But the judgment provides some hope and solace.
“Relief is the biggest word that comes to mind,” Murrell told GBH News. “What it was about for us was creating a clear trail, a clear precedent. And that trail has been set.”
