A small group of neo-Nazis marched through downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, drawing several vocal protesters and eventually leaving after being “challenged,” police said.
Social media videos seen at the scene showed the protesters, all male, wearing red long-sleeved T-shirts and black pants, and some carrying black Nazi flags.
“Neo-Nazi demonstrators carried flags with swastikas as they roamed the Capitol and parts of downtown on Saturday afternoon,” Nashville police said in a statement.
No arrests were reported, and police said the group left in a U-Haul box truck and eventually left the greater Nashville area, suggesting the protesters may have come from outside the city. It suggests something.
“Some people on Broadway challenged the group, most of whom were wearing face coverings,” the station said. “The group headed to a U-Haul box truck, got in and left Davidson County.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the marchers' red shirts bore the words Blood Tribe, a white supremacist membership organization that was officially founded in 2021 by former Marine Christopher Pohlhouse. .
The all-male organization eschews “softer ideas” in favor of loud and flashy demonstrations and a hard-line stance against notions of white supremacy, according to the ADL.
According to the ADL, the group emphasizes physical fitness and a militant mentality, and primarily focuses on disrupting events geared toward the LGBTQ community, such as Drag Queen Story Hour, a children's reading event. is placed.
“These groups, once relegated to dark corners, are now empowered to spout their harmful ideology in public because state leadership refuses to condemn their words and actions. “I feel like there's a lot of people there,” said state Rep. Aftin Behn (D-Nashville). said in X.
State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) is back as part of the Tennessee Three, a group of lawmakers who were removed by Republicans last year for protesting gun violence on the House floor, but Republican lawmakers have been accused of hate speech. He criticized the group and said that the hate speech was appealing to new parties. Nazi.
“This is exactly what our Republican colleagues are encouraging and inviting in hate speech.” Jones told X.
Representatives from the two Republican caucuses in Congress did not respond to requests for comment.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee condemned the group. Statement regarding X. “Nazism and anti-Semitism should never be tolerated in any form.”
“As Jews continue to face persecution around the world, Tennessee remains steadfast in our support,” he continued.
Video showed counter-protesters chasing the men down a downtown street near the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, demanding they show their faces.
His video captured the march and his reaction.
“Coward,” the man shouted, adding insults.
