White nationalists sued a man with Lake Stevens ties. They can’t find him.

The suit alleges David Capito II joined Patriot Front using a fake identity while working for a leftist organization.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Lake Stevens in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118

By Shea Johnson / The News Tribune

Five people tied to a white nationalist group sued a Washington man last year who allegedly infiltrated the organization and released confidential information.

Since then, efforts to serve him with the federal lawsuit have been unsuccessful, including at a Tacoma address listed among his last-known locations, court records show.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2023 by five members or affiliates of Patriot Front in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Patriot Front is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a Texas-based white supremacist group whose goal is to form a new state advocating namely for white men. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Patriot Front a hate group and said it splintered from another white supremacist organization following the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The suit alleges David Capito II, who purportedly has changed his name, joined Patriot Front in July 2021 using a fake identity and under false pretenses. Capito took pictures of group members’ license plates and other personal information, recorded members with hidden microphones and cameras and exploited the group’s private chats and video links from its website, the suit said.

Capito, 36, and accomplices allegedly released and used confidential information — such as home addresses and places of employment — to harass members and threaten them where they lived and worked, the suit alleged. He and others are accused of trespassing on their property, making threatening telephone calls to their employers, slashing plaintiffs’ vehicle tires and putting up flyers in their neighborhoods.

The plaintiffs are: Colton Brown, a former electrician’s assistant in Washington who since moved out of state; James and Amelia Johnson who still live in Washington; Paul Gancarz of Virginia; and Daniel Turetchi, now of Pennsylvania, who lived in Maryland at the time of the allegations. The suit doesn’t specify the cities where the alleged wrongdoing occurred, but The Seattle Times previously reported Brown lived near Maple Valley in King County and James Johnson was from Skagit County.

Brown and James Johnson were among 31 Patriot Front members arrested in June 2022 for planning to riot at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. James Johnson and four others were sentenced to five days in jail, according to the Associated Press.

The plaintiffs said they either lost their jobs or were forced to relocate because of Capito, whom the lawsuit described as a spokesperson for the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club — a leftist antifascist organization created to counter white supremacist and far-right groups, according to media reports.

Capito has yet to be served with the suit but apparently not for a lack of trying, court records show.

In February, a private investigator hired by the plaintiffs’ legal counsel declared in a court filing that he had been unable to locate and serve Capito despite an extensive search and attempts to reach him through various phone numbers. His efforts included multiple visits between November and January to four addresses believed to belong to Capito — two in Seattle, one in Lake Stevens and another in Tacoma.

The investigator documented he had visited a unit in the 500 block of South L Street in Tacoma and spoke directly to the occupant who reported they had never heard of Capito.

The property was purchased by MultiCare in August 2022 as part of its Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital expansion, according to Pierce County land records and MultiCare spokesperson Scott Thompson. The homes on the site were demolished in April 2023, Thompson said, or seven months before the period in which the investigator claimed to have visited in search of Capito.

Christopher Hogue and Glen Allen, attorneys representing the plaintiffs, did not return messages seeking comment and requesting contact information for their hired private investigator. An attempt to reach Capito on a number listed for him in public records was unsuccessful.

Late last month, Hogue suggested tCapito was hiding in Washington and filed a motion in court seeking to serve Capito with the lawsuit using an alternative method: by publication. It means that a notice of the lawsuit would be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

“Plaintiffs have repeatedly and diligently attempted service, and Mr. Capito has concealed himself with the intent to avoid service,” the Sept. 26 motion said.

The plaintiffs requested 75 days to complete the service, in which their legal counsel plans to publish a summons in The Seattle Times for six weeks and afford Capito a necessary 60-day period to appear in court and answer the complaint.

In the complaint, the plaintiffs claimed the group’s activism is sometimes provocative but also nonviolent and that its activism had prompted physical violence, threats and harassment from others.

“At a deeper level, this complaint seeks to vindicate the rule of law and basic principles of free expression for persons who espouse unpopular opinions,” the suit said.

The suit alleges Capito invaded the plaintiffs’ privacy and violated laws governing unauthorized access to computers. It’s seeking unspecified damages, legal fees and an injunction to prevent Capito from further using the plaintiffs’ confidential information, among other relief.

Capito’s alleged intrusion into Patriot Front was highlighted in an August story from The New Yorker, which told of “a growing number of far-left vigilantes who are infiltrating the far right.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

The Victorian home sits on Whidbey Island. (Alyse Young for The Washington Post)
Whidbey couple thought they found their dream home — then came the bats

The couple had no recourse after unknowingly buying a home infested with thousands of bats.

The Snohomish County Jail is pictured on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Report reveals cause of Everett man’s death in Snohomish County Jail

Terry Crusha was booked into the jail on May 17. He died three days later, part of a string of deaths there.

Boeing workers file into Angel of the Winds Arena to vote on the latest contract proposal from the company on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Boeing Machinists prepare to go back to work after strike ends

After voting no twice, 59% of union members approved the latest contract.

Twede’s Cafe is pictured at the corner of Bendigo Boulevard and North Bend Way on Sunday, June 9, 2024, in North Bend, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Relive ‘Twin Peaks’ with cherry pie and damn fine coffee at Twede’s Cafe

The North Bend cafe, known as Double R Diner on the campy cult-classic, serves up nostalgia and a damn good breakfast.

From left to right, Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman. (Photos provided by the U.S. Navy)
Remains of Whidbey Island pilots to return this week

Lt. Cmdr Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman died in a crash on Oct. 15.

Everett
Everett men arrested in huge bust of Seattle drug ring

On Wednesday, investigators searched 31 locations, but suspects from Lynnwood and Edmonds remained at large, officials said.

Large logs flow quickly down the Snohomish River as the river reaches minor flood stage a hair over 25 feet following an overnight storm Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Rainy, gusty week to come in Snohomish County

The Snohomish River could reach the “action” flooding stage, but forecasters don’t expect any flooding here.

Police believe a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into five people Saturday morning in Everett. (Photo provided by the Everett Police Department)
Police still working to identify driver in Everett crash that killed 3

A driver fleeing a traffic stop reportedly crashed into five people on the side of the road early Saturday.

"Missing from Fire Trail Road" tells the story of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, who has been missing from Tulalip since November 2020. (FilmRise)
‘Missing from Fire Trail Road’ premieres in Tulalip

Authorities are still looking for clues on the November 2020 disappearance of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis.

Two couples walk along Hewitt Avenue around lunchtime on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to increase penalties for wage theft

The ordinance passed Wednesday makes it more difficult to earn city contracts after violating wage laws.

Police believe a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into five people Saturday morning in Everett. (Photo provided by the Everett Police Department)
Police: Driver hit, killed 3 people after fleeing Everett traffic stop

Around 1 a.m. Saturday, a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a driver on Airport Road, police said.

Vernon Streeter looks over the fence at the Skykomish Substation operated by Puget Sound Energy on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Skykomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Doesn’t make any sense’: Skykomish residents decry increased outages

Community members are frustrated about power outages and a lack of communication from Puget Sound Energy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.