Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, a member of Patriot Prayer, the Vancouver, Washington-based far-right group that attracts white supremacists and has engaged in violence, appeared in court in Portland, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019.
Jim Ryan / The Oregonian
A member of Patriot Prayer, the Vancouver-based far-right group that attracts white supremacists and has engaged in violence, appeared in court on assault charges Monday after having fled the country.
Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, who is out of custody, entered Multnomah County Circuit Court with several supporters who said they were also members of the Proud Boys, another far-right group that has engaged in fights with antifa members at Portland protests.
Toese was assigned a public defender, ordered to not have contact with his victims and to reside in Clark County, Washington, during the case.
Toese, 23, was arrested at Portland International Airport on Friday and was booked into Multnomah County Jail on a warrant charging him with two counts of assault, one a felony and the other a misdemeanor. Another defendant in the same case, Donovan Flippo, previously pleaded guilty to assault.
Toese posted $2,250 bail Friday, according to court records.
On June 8, 2018, Toese allegedly assaulted and injured Timothy Ledwith, according to court records. Ledwith, a self described anti-fascist, was in court Monday to watch the brief proceedings.
Ledwith said Toese punched him in the face at the Lloyd Center.
"I had stitches and a concussion," Ledwith said. "The thing that gets me mad is this guy has committed an assault on me, and other assaults. There are people who are given hard bail and Tiny has fled the country and his bail was that low.”
The month before that alleged assault, members of the Proud Boys, including Toese, were involved in a similar physical alternation at the Vancouver Mall in Clark County. According to cellphone video, Toese threw a teenager to the ground before mall security officers separated them. Charges were never filed in that case.
Toese is also facing charges stemming from a 2017 harassment case.
He has been out of the country for months, reportedly in American Samoa.
After court Monday, Toese said he felt “good” about the case and said, “I’m a proud western chauvinist and I refuse to apologize for creating a modern world." The phrase is listed as a "basic tenant" of the Proud Boys on their website.