Joshua Plotner: Idaho Based Patriot Front Member and Neo Nazi

As discussed in many previous articles, Patriot Front is a neo-fascist, white supremacist organization that split off of the ardently Neo-Nazi group Vanguard America after the deadly 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The split came after one of Vanguard America’s members drove their car through a crowd of counter protestors at UTR, and in an attempt to avoid the ensuing fallout the group took on an entirely different name and aesthetic. While their ideology is still the same as the former Vanguard America, they have rebranded themselves as American Patriots in an attempt to appeal to a more mainstream audience. The groups propaganda often features flashy American patriotic/nationalist imagery that can be easily reproduced and distributed to its numerous chapters and members across the country. Despite their attempts to appeal to a more mainstream, albeit racially biased audience, the group has no qualms about calling themselves fascists. Their online manifesto explicitly calls for an end to American democracy and the forcible removal of nonwhite people from the United States. It claims the group intends to revive a supposedly authentic American identity that is derived from European colonialism and the idea that non-whites aren’t truly Americans.

Patriot Fronts activism typically consists of flyering, banner drops, and the occasional public appearance or flash march. These actions serve the dual purposes of attempting to recruit new members and intimidate minority communities. Due to Patriot Fronts target audience being entirely made up of young, disaffected, racist, middle class white men, their propaganda efforts focus on locations where there are both minority populations and a pool of potential recruits. It is for this reason that college campuses and large multicultural cities are frequent targets of Patriot Fronts “activism.” It is worth noting that their propaganda had appeared in minority communities after events like racially motivated mass shootings, including the deadly shooting that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Philadelphia.

Despite their attempts to portray themselves as a peaceful organization, their actions have become increasingly erratic over time. After the 2020 police brutality protests the group attempted to market itself by vandalizing public artwork dedicated to social justice causes, including the destruction of The Bust of York on Mt Tabor in Portland and the defacement of the Love and Respect mural in Olympia, Washington. They have also participated in gang assaults on bystanders during their short lived “flash marches.” One such incident occurred when members of the group surrounded and assaulted a well known African American artist in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sometimes these actions have not been without consequence for the group. In June 2022, 31 members of Patriot Front were mass arrested after it appeared they had been planning to start a riot at a pride parade in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho. This is where we were able to identify the subject of this article, Joshua Plotner. It appeared that Plotner was responsible for bailing out the 31 Patriot Front members a day after the arrests took place. A further dive into Plotners background reveals that he uses the pseudonym “Walter ID” within the organization. For a short time before moving to Idaho , Plotner also used the alias “Walter OR” due to his original residence being Portland, OR. It appears that Plotner was one of 5 Patriot Front members active in Oregon, those being ex-Proud Boy Casey James Knutson, Central Point based Neo Nazi Richard James Flannery, Prospect based member Lawrence Alexander Norman, and a Corvallis based Proud Boy who used the name Ben Bak…we’re sorry James OR (we’re sure his dox is floating around somewhere. Hate when autocorrect does that).

From what we can glean, Walter ID currently lives in Craigmont, Idaho with his wife Katherine Plotner on a property bought by Joshua’s mother in law (we know this because several sites have list Katherine and Josh as living at the same address in Portland and Idaho). This bit of information is particularly interesting because Craigmont is technically on Nez Perce reservation land, and the property itself is an old church building. The original seller of the property was Baptist Foundation Northwest based out of Vancouver, Washington.

While it is unclear if either Josh or Katherine have ties to the Nez Perce reservation, we can say with certainty that this information is extremely concerning because not only is it unclear why the couple decided to move to an abandoned, dilapidated church, but Craigmont Idaho is an extremely small town in the middle of rural Idaho. White supremacists have long had a proclivity for buying up rural land for nefarious and illicit purposes, going back to groups like the National Alliance and the White Patriots party founded by Klansmen Frazier Glenn Miller. The fact that white supremacists may be operating off of Native land in an unknown capacity and likely without the knowledge of the tribal government is something that should draw attention.

What we can say for sure is that the couples move to Craigmont is a relatively new development. It is likely they had previously resided in the Montavilla neighborhood near Mt Tabor in Portland. Before moving in with his girlfriend we have confirmed that he lived at his fathers house on 80th street near the Portland airport. We think it is incredibly likely that Joshua became estranged from his father in part due to his massive violent criminal record (His father, Thomas Augusta Plottner, is a registered sex offender who has been charged with rape 1 and sodomy)

Radicalization

Before joining Patriot Front, there is evidence to suggest Josh’s radicalization into white supremacy started with the misogynistic mens rights movement (not to be confused with the mens liberation movement, which was a pro feminist movement in the 1970’s that revolved around the idea that the concept of traditional patriarchal male gender roles were harmful to men and seeked to free them from the constraints of traditional notions of masculinity). Often referred to as the “manosphere,” the Mens Rights subculture largely revolves around a backlash to womens rights/feminism and the promotion of traditional hierarchical gender roles. Online forums that are considered to be part of the manosphere often promote violence against women, claim that they are biologically inferior and seek to reduce them solely to their reproductive functions. They also promote the idea that women inherently “owe” men sex and for this reason some corners of the movement have even called for the legalization of rape. Since its growth during the early part of the last decade, parts of the movement have split off to form their own niches , including the Incel and MGTOW subcultures that emphasize self hatred and the idea that sexually frustrated men should blame women for their inability to find a sexual relationship. Given the inherently violent implications of mens rights/incel ideology it should be no surprise that the movement is a literal birthing ground for mass shooters. In 2022 alone there were two mass shootings linked to incel ideology, and in the years prior incels and mens rights adherents carried out an enormous chunk of the mass shooting incidents that occured in the US and around the world.

It is also noteworthy that there is a large amount of overlap between the alt right and the manosphere. Many prominent figures in the Manosphere are also well known for being alt right celebrities, Mike Cernovich being a perfect example. One also does not have to look very hard on incel and mens rights forums to find links to sites like the Daily Stormer and The Right Stuff.

Going back to Plotners journey into Alt Right politics, it is unclear how he found the Mens Rights Movement, but based off of his past twitter accounts and usernames it appears he was likely into anime and the My Little Pony fandom. For example, Plotner used the Twitter name bash-the-fash (@FascTheStampede), which he talks about in the leaked chats. Vash the Stampede is the protagonist of Trigun, an anime/manga series created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995. While neither of these fandoms are inherently tied to misogynistic or fascist belief systems, anime forums are typically favorite targets of the alt right because they often contain large populations of white male gamers. It is also important to note that Joshua appears to have spent a lot of time on the internet messaging board 4chan, which despite being well known for its message boards about anime and fandoms, also has a long history of being a cesspool for alt right/misogynistic content. One way we know Plotner was on 4chan is that he was looking for gay hookups in Portland using his real name and birthdate(we are not making this up) alongside other pornographic images.

From 2016-2018 Plotner ran several anti-feminist tumblr blogs which he name dontneedfeminism and dontneedfeminism2. We know he was the owner of the 2 blogs because his wife(who we will discuss later) frequently reposted about them on her tumblr account and implied she was living with the owner. While it appears he had not been fully radicalized around the time these blogs came online, his posts indicate he may have been consuming anti-SJW content which was rampant on platforms like Youtube, Reddit, and tumblr in the mid to late 2010’s.

On his now archived blog posts he went on antifeminist screeds comparing feminism to nazism, claiming that patriarchy doesnt exist in the United States, that women are likely to make false rape allegations, and so on. At some point between 2016-2018 Joshua started a third tumblr blog called needs-more-maga. The blog was archived once before it was banned due to hate speech, and there are links in the bio to both of Plotners dontneedfeminism blogs. Josh’s transformation from anti-sjw/anti-feminist anime fan to full blown MAGA trump supporter is not at all surprising, as many young men who became involved with racist groups during Trumps presidency started off by listening to anti-SJW social media influencers, many of whom had ties to more radical fringe figures on the far-right.

By 2018 it appears that Joshua had gone full fash, as he started a twitter account called cant-bash-the-fash (@FasctheStampede), where he openly calls himself a fascist and frequently reposts Patriot Front related content.

Joshua Plotners Bio on his Cantbashthefash Twitter account

Activities in Patriot Front

From what we can gleam, Joshua has been a member of Patriot Front since 2020. We know this because in October 2020, Joshua’s wife posted a GoFundMe link on her facebook along with the message “Josh asked me to pass this around as much as I could, it’s from one of the guys in his friend circle. Anything helps!” Upon further examination of the link the fundraiser appears to have been started by Zach Stern (aka Ryan PA in the leaked Patriot Front chats) and his wife.

Fundraiser posted on Kats facebook for Zack Stern and his wife

Since Plotner joined PF in 2020 he has been an extremely active. His longstanding membership in Patriot Front is notable because membership in the organization is often short lived due to their poor opsec, incompetent leadership, and mundane activities that are only performed so they can be used in propaganda. Many members are also kicked out because they either do not put up enough promotional materials or they are deemed overweight/not physically fit. It is highly notable that he was responsible for the stenciling of the Bust of York on Mt Tabor in Portland in July of 2021, which he later bragged about in the Patriot Front leaked chats.

The Bust of York mysteriously appeared on Mt Tabor where a statue of Harvey Scott once stood in February 2021. Scott was a reactionary figure who opposed the women’s rights movement and his statue was toppled in October 2020 amid the protests over Racial Injustice. The Bust of York was targeted by Plotner because York was the black slave who attended Lewis and Clark’s expedition across the Pacific Northwest. We would note that this vandalism could be construed as a hate crime under federal law.

That same July, Joshua also participated in the defacement of the pro-BLM We Stand With You Mural in Northeast Portland. The Portland Police Bureau later put out a statement asking for info about possible suspects.

Mural defaced by Plotner and other PNW based PF members

In November 2021 Plotner and other WA/ID based members of patriot Front put up stickers in the Idaho towns of Moscow and Lewiston. They also fliered the University of Idaho and put up a banner near Coeur d’Alene. At this point Plotner was likely no longer living in Portland and had already made his move to Craigmont. In the leaked rocket chats Joshua aka Walter ID claimed that he put up Patriot Front promat in the aforementioned locations alongside promat for the antisemitic, white nationalist organization known as the National Justice Party.

That same month Joshua could be seen posing alongside other PNW based members next to 26 stolen pro-diversity yard signs that had been painted over with Patriot Front regalia.

In December of 2021, Plotner and another Patriot Front member were arrested for vandalism and graffiti at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. From Spokane court records it appears the case is still open

Joshua Plotner arrest record from Spokane

Later that month Joshua and PF members from around the country participated in a flash march around the National Mall in Washington DC. Like all of their activities, flash marches are heavily choreographed events that are performed solely for propaganda value. These marches typically take place in the dead of night or in the very early morning hours to avoid scrutiny by bystanders and typically do not last long. However, after their short march around the National Mall the group of assorted racists carrying flags with Patriot fronts logo juxtaposed over the colors of the American flag quickly found their transportation was nowhere in sight due to infiltration and logistical problems caused by antifascists. For several hours the column of Patriot Front members who had tried oh-so-hard to look militant and intimidating now shivered in the December weather looking like total dweebs.

Patriot Front wondering where their Uhauls went

It is also highly likely that Plotner attended the group drilling/sparring session that took place the previous day, where members practiced marching and shield formations (which they often do wrong)

It is probable that Plotner also participated in other PF related activities in Idaho, including a stickering that took place on 5th street in Coeur d’Alene and another stickering at North Idaho college. From the leaked chats it is also apparent Walter ID may have been responsible for helping to vet new prospective members. Due to the leaderships paranoia regarding potential infiltrators, Patriot Front has an extremely strenuous vetting process where would-be members must fill out an online form then attend an online and in person interview, all of which is recorded or written down. In order to be accepted into the groups applicants must be white non-Jewish cis-het males between the ages of 18-35 (although they have tried to target teens younger than 18, particularly on online gaming forums). Applicants who are deemed as overweight, ugly, or physically disabled are often turned down. They have also denied applications because the applicant was not ”racially aware“ enough for their tastes (most applicants that are accepted overtly identify themselves as national socialists or white nationalists when asked about ideology, and claim to have ties to other overtly nazi groups). According to the chats Walter attended several in person interviews alongside other members of the group, and may have been responsible for deciding whether prospective members fit Patriot Fronts standards.

Walter ID claiming he has interviewed prospective members before

Employment

While we do not know if Plotner is currently employed, we do know that he is licensed to work as an unarmed security guard in the state of Oregon, and up until recently was working for Securitas USA in Vancouver, a company with a long history of hiring Nazis. Plotners involvement with Securitas makes us wonder if he has any ties to the PDX Stormers, as the ringleaders of the PDX Stormer Bookclub, Bogdan Gerasimyuk and Matthew Blais were also employed with Securitas. We currently cannot find any photos of Plotner attending any of Joey Gibsons rallies, but we will keep our eyes peeled!

Katherine Plotner: Former Furry and Deviant Art fangirl turned Nazi

Now for a word about Joshua’s wife, Katherine plotner (neé Katherine Califf). Much like Josh, Katherine became estranged from her father who may have been abusive, as he was arrested for assault and ordered to stay away from her mother and brother. Before she met Josh it appears she openly identified as bisexual and advocated for trans rights on facebook. She was a huge fan of anime and deviant art, with her social media being filled with G’raha Tia fan art (a character from Final Fantasy 4) and Pokemon anthro. Her social media also indicates that she was a member of numerous furry communities, including being a frequent poster on furaffinity.net.

My Little Pony fan art on Katherines Twitter account

Examining her social media before and after she met Josh it is apparent that he played a huge role in radicalizing her into Alt-right politics. We also think it is likely that she was heavily influenced by the Gamergate harassment campaign that took place between 2014 and 2015. Gamergate was a decentralized misogynistic online movement that served as a far right backlash against feminism, women’s rights, diversity and progressivism.

The movement started out by targeting numerous prominent female figures in the video game industry, most notably video game critic Anita Sarkeesian. The harassment campaign involved doxing, threats of rape and death threats.

katherine plotner aka Abbie Goth claiming that Anita Sarkeesian was lying about getting rape threats

While it is unclear if she met Josh before Gamergate or if she was influenced by Gamergate and found Josh afterword, it is clear that by the time the two were together Katherine frequently posted links to Josh’s misogynistic blogs on her Tumblr page

Katherine tagging Joshua Plotners misogynist blogs on her tumblr

Sometimes her posts veered into explicit racism, including a post captioned “Why isn’t there a white/straight/male rights movement?” with a picture of the KKK in the background

She also posted A LOT of antifeminist/anti-SJW content, possibly taking after her soon to be husband.

At times it appears Katherine embraces the “Trad Wife aesthetic,” an antifeminist subculture that embraces “Traditional Gender roles” for women (i.e leaving careers to raise families, having the family center around the husband, etc).

Katherine embracing the furry trad-wife lifestyle

Despite her very confused identity of being a furry, trad-wife, bi anti-feminist, anti-SJW, Pro gay rights anime/deviant art fangirl it is likely she has fully embraced Alt Right politics. We find it extremely unlikely that she does not know about her husbands membership in Patriot Front, and the fact that she reposted his twitter account numerous times tells us she is aware of his explicitly fascist ideology. We also believe she is currently living on the same property as Josh in Craigmont