April 2010 – Page 4 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

St. Louis: White Separatist Chased From Tea Party Political Event

A YouTube video shows a St. Louis political “Tea Party” group member has confronted a self-proclaimed “racist” and “separatist” white individual wearing a shirt with the Neo-Nazi logo “Blood and Honor” group, stating that the individual with the Nazi group shirt does not represent the values of the Tea Party political group.

The individual with the Nazi shirt stated at one point that he was with the “Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,” and then asks the person filming and questioning him if he was a “member of the Council of Conservative Citizens” (CofCC), which is a “white nationalist” group. As R.E.A.L. has previously reported, in Florida, the CofCC has repeatedly attempted to infiltrated Tea Party political events, and subsequently the CofCC created its own “Tea Party” group, which was rejected by other Florida “Tea Party” organizations. When the St. Louis “Tea Party” representative says that he does not belong to the CofCC, the individual in the Nazi shirt clearly says “I do” [belong to the CofCC].

On the YouTube video, the St. Louis Tea Party representative rejects these groups and the Nazi shirt with a small swastika on it as not representative of the Tea Party group values, stating “the swastika is not welcome at the Tea Party.” The individual with the Nazi shirt states “I don’t care what you stand for, I care what I stand for.” He also tells the videographer that “I probably go to church more than you, I am a trustee.”

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" with Blood & Honor Group Shirt at Political Event (Photo: YouTube)

The self-proclaimed “racist” attendee states that “I am proud to be a racist… I am not a Nazi, I am a proud racist, I am white.” He then angrily states “if more people stood up for the white rights, you would not need 25 percent blacks on a job…” He then tells the person with the Tea Party political group “you guys are a bunch of wimps, you need to stand up for your racial purity.” When he then states that “I am a separatist,” the Tea Party representative replies “then separate yourself .”

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist:" "You need to stand up for your racial purity..." (Photo: YouTube)

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" Avoiding Videographer at "Tea Party" Event (Photo: YouTube) — St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" with "Blood and Honor" Shirt Avoiding Videographer at "Tea Party" Event (Photo: YouTube)

For those who are unfamiliar with the “Blood and Honor” Nazi group, Against Nazi has previously reported that it was a U.K.-founded group with U.S. supporters. “Blood and Honor” Nazi events have been promoted on the “white nationalist hate group” Stormfront, headquartered in Florida, and who were big promoters of the failed Washington DC area “American Renaissance” event that was cancelled in February 2010. The self-proclaimed “racist” individual at the St. Louis public event was wearing a Nazi and skinhead promoting shirt and hat. The “deaths head” logo on the front of the Nazi’s shirt and his hat are products that we have seen before. The back of the shirt is not something we have seen before, but elements of it are consistent with other B&H and Aryan supremacist merchandise.

R.E.A.L. has also previously reported on the efforts of other “white nationalist” groups such as the Occidental Dissent, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), and their supporters to attempt to infiltrate and persuade Tea Party groups to adopt racial hatred. The Occidental Dissent claimed success on April 15 by infiltrating a Washington DC based Tea Party event. The Occidental Dissent, whose mission is the “the creation of a Jew-free, racially exclusive White ethnostate in North America,” used the Gadsden Flag as way to integrate with the Tea Party April 15 event, despite their open and clear contempt for the United States of America.

On April 15, 2010, “Hunter Wallace” of the white nationalist Occidental Dissent wrote:

“I will say this though: there is a common thread that unites the Tea Party protesters with the militias and gun enthusiasts (and the White Nationalists) we saw in Kentucky. All of these groups are starting to rally around a common anti-government symbol: the Gadsden flag.”
“Where there is smoke, there is fire… Several of the Tea Party signs were caricatures of Obama that struck me as mildly negrophobic. They had slightly exaggerated racial features that brought to mind the Jim Crow minstrel show cartoons that I collect back home. The punchline: this man in the White House, the bloodsucking illegitimate thief stealing our money, is a sort of absurd African foreigner. This type of milquetoast racial humor seemed to be quite popular among the crowd.”
“Carl Cameron of FOX News made an appearance. I stood less than five feet away from him waving the Gadsden flag in the background of the U.S. Capitol. I don’t know if any of this was on television. There were other ‘Alternative Right’ commentators on the ground in DC. We saw someone from The Political Cesspool walking among the crowd. Stuff Black People Don’t Like was on the scene and chatted with us. The racialist alternative media has grown by leaps and bounds over the past year.”

R.E.A.L. has repeatedly seen the use of the Gadsden flag not only by political groups, but also by anti-American groups such as the Occidental Dissent whose leader seeks to recreate a white nationalist Confederate States of America. The self-proclaimed racist who was chased from the St. Louis Tea Party political event stated that he was a member of the white nationalist Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC); this same CofCC also widely promotes the use of the Gadsden flag as part of its events as well, and has been doing since before the existence of the “Tea Party” political groups.

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We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge Nazi, white supremacist, racial supremacist, and those who promote hate and to release the burden of the hate and violence from their hearts, and to rejoin the family of humanity in support of our universal human rights.

Choose love, not hate. Love Wins.

The Gadsden Flag and Those Who Promote Hate

The first use of a “snake” symbol in American history was simply to signify the divided the 13 colonies and the need to “join or die” as a united nation. The later “Gadsden flag” of uncertain origin, was used by U.S. Marine Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden on his ships in warfare against the British army, after seeing the “rattlesnake” symbol on some drums in Philadelphia. The Gadsden flag is a historic symbol associated with military conflict.

The use of the Gadsden flag for current political disagreement is not a major part of U.S. political history, as the Gadsden flag has predominantly been associated with historic military conflict. Unfortunately, in addition to the Gadsden flag’s past use as part of military history, there has also been use of the Gadsden flag by groups promoting anti-government militias and racial oriented hate groups.

Because of this, those groups that have used the Gadsden flag for their political views today, are now being joined by those who have also used the Gadsden flag and who promote hate and even violence against their fellow Americans. Unfortunately for those using the Gadsden flag strictly for their political causes, many extremist hate groups have sullied the Gadsden flag for years, by using it to promote their “fight” against our human rights of equality and liberty.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has repeatedly seen the use of the Gadsden flag not only by political groups and by anti-government groups , but also by anti-American groups such as the Occidental Dissent whose leader seeks to recreate a white nationalist Confederate States of America. We have seen groups such as the white nationalist Occidental Dissent, the white nationalist American Renaissance, the white nationalist Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), and even the Hutaree militia (whose members have been arrested for a terrorist plot) all utilizing the Gadsden flag as a banner. (Notably the individual with the Nazi shirt chased from an April 2010 St. Louis “Tea Party” political event, claimed to be a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens” (CofCC) – that has been promoting the Gadsden flag long before the existence of the “Tea Party” political groups.

The Occidental Dissent claimed success on April 15 by infiltrating a Washington DC based Tea Party event. The Occidental Dissent, whose mission is the “the creation of a Jew-free, racially exclusive White ethnostate in North America,” used the Gadsden Flag as way to integrate with the Tea Party April 15 event, despite their open and clear contempt for the United States of America.

On April 15, 2010, “Hunter Wallace” of the white nationalist Occidental Dissent wrote:

For many years, Stormfront “white nationalist hate group” forum members have frequently supported using the Gadsden flag to send a symbol of their views. Stormfront forum members have been associated with terrorist plots to kill 102 Americans, have been involved in the murdering of police, and have reportedly called for the assassination of American politicians. Stormfront forum members have praised the 2009 attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the 2010 attack on the Pentagon, the 2010 Austin terrorist attack, and even the 9/11 attackers. As early as 2006, a Stormfront “white nationalist” forum member stated “The Gadsden Flag is PERFECT for our struggle. It’s bright, and it represents a fight!”

To those who simply seek political change, does it makes sense to use a historic symbol that has been sullied by so many hate groups that seek “a fight” in support of racism or other supremacist views?

"White Nationalist" Occidental Dissent Group that Seeks "White Ethnostate" Promoting Gadsden Flag

Screen shot of "white nationalist hate group" American Renaissance promoting Gadsden flag

"White Nationalist Hate Group" Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) and Gadsden Flag Promotion

Hutaree Militia Couple -- Arrests for Terror Plot Against Police (Gadsden Flag on Right)

Poor Child being given Automatic Weapon by Hutaree Militia Suspects (Gadsden Flag on Right)

California: Stabbing, Hate Crime Attack on Joseph Igbineweka

California college’s student president stabbed; hate crime alleged — Joseph Igbineweka called racial slurs, then stabbed

CNN reports:
— “The student body president of California State University, Chico, was recovering Monday from stab wounds suffered in what police believe was a hate crime, officials said.”
— “Joseph Igbineweka, who was born in Nigeria, was stabbed early Sunday while walking in a Chico neighborhood near the college where mostly students reside, Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said.”
— “Igbineweka passed two men who began to make racial slurs, Merrifield said. He ignored them and continued to walk, but they followed him and continued to yell at him.”
— “Igbineweka eventually turned around, and one of the men struck him, Merrifield said. He fought back, but the man pulled a pocket knife and stabbed him at least four times, in the neck, chest, stomach and arm, according to Merrifield. The attacker fled on foot.”

— CNN video report

California: Stabbing and Hate Crime Attack on Joseph Igbineweka (Photo: CNN)

Additional reports:

— AP: Police: Student president stabbed in racist attack
— KGO: CSU Chico stabbing being called a hate crime
— Chico Enterprise Record: Chico State Associated Students president recalls attack
— UPI: Man arrested in hate crime stabbing
— “Barry Sayavong was ordered held in the county jail on $250,000 bail after Joseph Igbineweka, 23, was stabbed multiple times in the neck, arms and hands while walking home from a party Sunday.”
— Sacramento Bee: Chico hate crime victim calls it an isolated incident; suspect’s sister calls it mistaken identity

Pakistan Newspaper Criticizes Pakistan as “Becoming an Increasingly Intolerant Nation”

Pakistan Dawn: “An intolerant nation”
— Dawn: “We are reaping the harvest of the seeds of hatred sown in the seventies and eighties. Pakistan is becoming an increasingly intolerant nation where religious and sectarian minorities live in fear and are awarded little or no protection by the state.”
— “Difference is unacceptable to the obscurantists who want everyone to toe their line. And if that takes intimidation, torture or even murder, then so be it, for no option is unavailable to the self-righteous who believe that they alone have seen the light.”
— “This mindset is not limited to the Taliban who kill in the name of religion. There is no shortage in Pakistan of sectarian and other militant outfits that feel justified in murdering Shias, Christians and Ahmadis — or indeed anyone who doesn’t share their views.”

Indonesia: Official Orders Halt to Beleaguered Church in Indonesia

Indonesia: Official Orders Halt to Beleaguered Church in Indonesia
CDN reports: “ A local government official in Bekasi, West Java last week forbid all worship of the Filadelfia Huria Kristen Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) in Jejalan village. Regent Sa’duddin on April 12 ordered a halt to all activities of the church, including worship services that have been held on a strip of roadside land since the government on Jan. 12 summarily sealed the church’s building, which was under construction.”

May 23, 2010: DC – Hope for Darfur – Justice in Sudan March

The Darfur Interfaith Network announces the following event on May 23, 2010:

Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Athletic Field behind US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Street: 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW

“The Darfur Interfaith Network is proud to sponsor The Hope for Darfur – Justice in Sudan March and Rally scheduled for Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 1:30 pm. The march will begin at the athletic field on Raoul Wallenberg Place behind the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Concerned citizens and members from congregations of many faiths throughout the DC area will begin gathering around 1:00 pm. At 1:30 pm we will begin the short march to Lafayette Park, across from the White House. The rally at Lafayette Park will include survivors from Darfur and southern Sudan, dynamic informative speakers representing Sudan activists who will inform us of the latest situation on the ground, clergy from several denominations, and music. All activities should be concluded by around 3:30 pm. The peaceful march is less than one mile and we encourage families and children to join us. There will be plenty of signs to carry! Please bring your congregation or group banners to identify yourselves at the march and rally.”

Rally speakers include:

*      Mr. Joe Madison – The Black Eagle
*      Dr. John Eibner
*      Rev. Kimberly Brown Barnes
*      Mr. Mohamed Yahya
*      Rabbi Bruce Lustig
*      Rev. Jeff Krehbiel
*      Mr. Robert Bank
*      Mr. Michael Poffenberger

Note: May 31, 2010 will be U.S. recognized Memorial Day this year

We Remember – April 19, 1995 – Oklahoma City Terrorist Attack on America

— Oklahoma City marks 15 years since bombing
— 15 years later, Murrah bombing remains painful memory
— Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Web Site
— Wikipedia Report on April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City Terrorist Attack
— Wikipedia report: “”It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, and more than 680 people were injured. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered building glass in a three mile square area. The bomb was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of property damage.”

— Indianapolis Star report
— Against Nazi report

Trust Versus Agreement

On April 19, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported a story on American politics that “Few trust the government, poll finds,” stating that only 22 percent of Americans “trust” the federal government, based on a telephone poll by Pew Research Center. The LA Times states that such lack of “trust” has only been matched in the 1992 to 1995 period (17 percent in summer of 1994), and in 1980 (25 percent).

But what the report on the Pew Research Center poll fails to communicate is that “trust” and “agreement” are not the same thing, nor should they be the same thing for those who believe in representative democratic government. Moreover, it fails to mention that some of governments that were not well “trusted” while in power and actively involved in decision making, saw their “approval ratings” go up dramatically by nostalgic Americans once such former government leaders were no longer making decisions and leading government. Jimmy Carter’s approval rating went from 34 percent in 1980 to 66 percent in 1999. Nor is that phenomenon unique to him alone.

Americans elect leaders to “do something” in Washington DC. But if the decisions made in an ever changing, dynamic world are not the ones we agree with, then should we no longer “trust” such leaders? Or is it really that we “disagree” with their decisions?

Agreement or disagreement is a choice that we can and must make as active participants in representative democracy.

But choosing to no longer “trust” is only a choice if we want to essentially reject representative democracy.

In over 30 years living in the Washington DC area, I can categorically state that I have not unilaterally agreed with any of the administrations that have been running the United States executive federal government: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Nor did I unilaterally agree with the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations before I lived in the Washington DC area. So essentially for all of my adult life, I have not agreed on major issues with the U.S. executive federal government.

There have always been things that I have sought and urged America’s government to do differently. I would not be surprised, if most of us are honest with ourselves, that most of us would find that they have felt the same way. I am sure that almost all of us could write a book “Issues We Haven’t Agreed with the U.S. Government Over the Years.”

But I trust America and its government. I can disagree and still trust. That is the foundation of the success of representative democracy. It is not just electing those who represent every view that we agree with in an ever-changing world (good luck finding that candidate), but it is also working with those elected by others who represent views we don’t agree with.

I have consistently trusted the representative democracy of the United States of America. Let’s be clear when we are addressing “trusting the government” that it is really the representative democracy that we are talking about — not merely about trusting any one leader of the government at that time.

“Trusting the government” is really about trusting ourselves.

We don’t have to like each other to trust each other as Americans.
We don’t have to agree with each other to trust each other as Americans.
But if we want to be a United States of America, we ultimately must trust each other.
To those looking to really understand America, such shared trust is the essence of how America works, at least thus far.

If we seek to do anything grand and noble together, such as continuing to support a representative democracy, we have to trust each other. Especially when we don’t agree and especially when we don’t like each other, it is essential that we still trust in our representative democracy that we maintain together.

In 30 years here, I have also seen that the people in Washington DC are mostly just like other Americans, with the same strengths, the same weaknesses, and same dreams as most other people. It is not a city of “power” to the elected representatives of our 300 million Americans, other than to the extent such “power” is given to their representatives in our democratic system. You, your neighbor, and every other American has a choice to select your representatives, and also to become a representative yourself. Everyone of us together control the destiny and the direction of America; this democratic vision is what we put our trust in.

The definition of trust is “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” The character, ability, strength, and truth that we are gauging is not of one elected politician, and not of our government’s stand on one issue. It is larger than that. What we are really trusting in are the “truths that we hold self-evident” that are fundamental in America’s definition. What we are really trusting in is the ability, strength, and truth “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” — even when all “the people” don’t agree.

It is painfully ironic that these new poll results about Americans not “trusting” their government are reported on April 19, 2010, fifteen years to the date of the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing attack on April 19, 1995.

April 19, 1995: The north wall of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was blown off by explosives packed into a rented truck. (AP photo)

All Americans should stop and remember April 19 – as a day that shows the consequences of no longer “trusting” in ourselves and in our shared representative democracy in America. We must never forget that there is a difference between “disagreeing” – voting for new representatives or advocating activism for policies and positions that we believe must be represented in government, and no longer “trusting” our democratic process at all.

Inspired by the white supremacist, Nazi leader William Pierce’s hate diatribe “The Turner Diaries,” terrorist Timothy McVeigh attacked the U.S. federal government building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 19, 1995 with a truck bomb, destroying half of the nine-story building. The terrorist attack was at 9:02 AM, just moments after parents had left their small children at a day-care center there at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building. Terrorist Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 Americans, including many innocent, helpless children. Many more were injured and more than 220 buildings in downtown Oklahoma City were damaged.

The terrorist Timothy McVeigh could no longer “trust” in America or what America’s government represented. Timothy McVeigh didn’t merely “disagree” with American government leaders or their policies, he distrusted the American government so much that he actively sought its destruction. While some debate the political partisan gains or losses of polls showing a lack of “trust” in America’s democratically elected government, we need to remember the real results of where such lack of “trust” has led our nation in the past.

Two months ago, on February 18, 2010, we saw another terrorist attack on a U.S. federal government building this time in Austin, Texas by Joseph Stack, who flew his plane into the Austin IRS office and murdered an IRS employee and a U.S. veteran. For his actions, some praised Stack’s terrorist attack as the acts of “a hero,” and others mocked the terrorist attack on our nation as merely “going out with a bang.” This past week, CNN broadcast a television program about the terrorist attack and Joseph Stack’s background. It addressed his tax woes and disagreement with the IRS, as well as his political manifesto calling for violence. What it didn’t address was Joseph Stack’s responsibility for his actions, including his decision not to pay his taxes, his wealth with a luxurious home that he burned down, his wealth that allowed him to buy a private plane which he used to attack the U.S. government. Some of those defending Joseph Stack have also defended Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s terrorism on April 19, 1995, as well as the 9/11 terrorists attacks. They believe that no longer trusting one another is a call to justify and urge violence against one another.

February 18, 2010 Terrorist Attack on Austin, Texas IRS Office (Photo: Jana Birchum, Getty Images)

A few weeks ago in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana individuals were arrested as part of a “Christian militia” Hutaree that allegedly was plotting attacks to murder law enforcement individuals. On April 12, 2010, it was reported that one of the alleged Hutaree plotters had an audio recording of “The Turner Diaries,” the same hate screed created by white supremacist Nazi William Pearce that inspired Timothy McVeigh to kill children and other innocents on April 19, 1995.

What we see once again is the inevitable outcome of when we choose not just to disagree, but to no longer trust in representative democracy, its institutions, and its results. Those who abandon our shared representative democratic system, laws, and liberties, feel that they can make their own laws, make their systems, and even believe that they personally can choose who has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They can even seek to create their own separatist nations, divided from the United States of America.

There are always those ready to teach us to hate one another. There are always those ready to teach us to deny the truths that we hold self-evident on equality and liberty. There are always those ready to urge division within our nation. There are even those ready to urge us to do violence against one another.

But they can only succeed if we choose to stop trusting one another as Americans and stop trusting in our shared representative democracy in America. So much of our society, from our economic system to our representative shared democracy is dependent on trusting one another. We need to acknowledge the importance of trust, and we need to work harder to build such bonds of trust with one another as Americans.

Choose trust – as part of a UNITED States of America.

Resources:

April 19, 2010 – Los Angeles Times: “Few trust the government, poll finds”

Report on April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City Terrorist Attack
— Indianapolis Star report
— another report

Definition of Trust

List of Presidents

ABC: Jimmy Carter Improves with Age

ABC: Reagan Approval Grows Better in Retrospect

November 19, 1863: Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

July 4, 1776: United States Declaration of Independence

Indiana: White Supremacist-Nazi Propaganda, Hitler Book, Weapons Found in Raid of Suspected Hutaree Militia Members

Los Angeles: Nazi White Supremacists Rally, Counterprotests Get Violent — R.E.A.L. Condemns Hate and Violence

On April 17, 2010, Nazi and white supremacist groups met and rallied in Los Angeles at Los Angeles City Hall, including the Nazi hate group “American National Socialist Movement.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the “National Socialist Movement” among its Neo-Nazi hate groups. The “National Socialist Movement” is also known as by the acronym NSM, and was created by two former stormtroopers in George Lincoln Rockwell’s American Nazi Party. Holocaust denier William A. White (“Bill White”) was a leader of the NSM until 2006; on April 16, 2010, former NSM leader Bill White was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for making threats.

The National Socialist Movement (NSM) states that it is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The NSM logo has elements of the American flag and the Nazi swastika. Among its “national officers and leaders,” the NSM “National Party Director” is “Commander Jeff Schoep.”

The NSM had announced its Los Angeles event with graphic in flames calling for fellow Nazis and white supremacists to “reclaim the American southwest.”

NSM Los Angeles Event Promotion and Leader Jeff Schoep (Images: YouTube, NSM Web Site)

At the Los Angeles Nazi NSM event, members chanted “Heil Hitler,” and gave Nazi salutes to a crowd of counterprotesters.

AFP reported that the event drew about 100 members of the NSM group that was protesting “against immigrants.”

AP reported that “about 50 members of the National Socialist Movement waved American flags and swastika banners for about an hour.”

LA NSM Protest (Photo AP: Richard Vogel)

AP also reported that “The white supremacists, many of them wearing flack helmets and black military fatigue uniforms, shouted ‘Sieg Heil’ before each of their speakers took the podium to taunt counter-protesters with racial, anti-Semitic and misogynistic epithets…. National Socialist Movement regional director Jeffrey Russell Hall announced that the group would begin backing political candidates who agreed with their anti-immigrant message.”

The Nazi white supremacist rally was also promoted by forum members of the “white nationalist hate group” Stormfront, with one Stormfront forum member writing “A new spirit is arising. You can feel it,” and another Stormfront forum member mocking the Holocaust as the “Holy Hoax,” and providing the image of crematorium with the mocking phrase “Bagel, anyone?” On March 29, 2010, Stormfront forum member Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty to a terrorist plot to murder 102 Americans.

Newsy also provides a video report on this topic.

Both the AP and the LA Times reported on violence by counterprotesters against the Nazi NSM rally in Los Angeles:

NSM Shields to Counterprotests (Photo: AFP)

The LA Times reported that:
— “While some counter-protesters said they had heard about the event through social media such as Twitter and had come to urge peace in the face of the group’s hateful message, others had clearly come for a fight. At least five of them were arrested by the end of the demonstration for throwing eggs and rocks.”
— “Before members of the white supremacist group had arrived, a bare-chested middle-aged man with Nazi insignias tattooed on his chest and back walked into a crowd of hundreds of counter-protesters gathered near 1st and Spring streets.”
— “Surrounded, the man mockingly bobbed his head to the rhythm of demonstrators chanting ‘Nazi scum.’ About a dozen protesters suddenly began pelting the man with punches and kicks. He fell and was struck on the back with the wooden handle of a protester’s sign, which snapped in two. Police eventually reached the man and pulled him from the melee, as blood poured from the back of his neck.”
— “Another man was rushed by a mob on Spring Street. He was punched in the face and kicked for about 20 seconds before police made it to the scene. After that beating was broken up, the man began running south on Spring Street, only to be chased down by a protester and slugged in the face. He collapsed and his face slammed to the curb as protesters began pummeling him again.”

LA Nazi Rally - Man Being Attacked (Photo: AP/Richard Vogel)

AP reported:
— “There was a brief flare-up of violence before the speakers arrived. A shirtless man was seen being escorted to safety behind police lines by a plainclothes officer as counter-protesters punched and grabbed at him. Blood could be seen at the base of the man’s neck.”
— “National Lawyers Guild executive director James Lafferty, who attended both as a legal observer and counter-protester, said he saw the man get into a fight with crowd members who saw his Nazi lightning bolt tattoos.”
— “Police Commander David Doan said a second man who crowd members believed was sympathetic with the white supremacists was also assaulted during the rally. Both men were treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.”
— “As the rally ended, counter-protesters hurled rocks, branches and other items over the police line and into a parking lot where the white supremacists’ had left their cars.”

"A woman tries to protect a man (with head down) who was being attacked by counter-demonstrators outside L.A. City Hall." (Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / April 17, 2010)

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) unequivocally condemns both the racial hatred of white supremacist organizations and the mob hatred of counterprotesters who attacked and injured individuals during the LA Nazi rally. Hate is hate. Violence is violence. We can never stop and we can never challenge hate with hate, and we urge that those responsible for violence are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. There is no room in America for mob violence that will beat, bludgeon, and bloody those we disagree with, even if they promote ideologies of hate.

We notice that one of the groups in an Associated Press photograph among the counterprotesters included members of the A.N.S.W.E.R. group, Los Angeles chapter. We see nothing today on the A.N.S.W.E.R. Los Angeles web site today disavowing any of their members or supporters involvement in the counterprotest violence. Should we get future updates, we will update this posting. We see that also one of the women in the photograph below near an A.N.S.W.E.R. placard also sought to protect one of the protesters in the LA Times photograph above.

A.N.S.W.E.R. LA Protesters Challenging Nazi Supporter (Photo: Richard Vogel / AP)

R.E.A.L. has been critical of A.N.S.W.E.R. in the past.

It has been our own experience with our members that A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders and individuals at Washington DC events have sought physical intimidation against R.E.A.L. members at public demonstrations. R.E.A.L.’s founder, Jeffrey Imm, has also been shoved by A.N.S.W.E.R. members at such public demonstrations, and A.N.S.W.E.R. members have tried to physically wrest placards and other protest materials out of his hands. This was at a Washington DC demonstration led by A.N.S.W.E.R.’s Brian Becker.

Law enforcement agency members have advised R.E.A.L. that they have been concerned about A.N.S.W.E.R.’s use of 2×4 wooden planks used to carry placards, which some have feared could be turned into weapons. This is why some law enforcement agencies are particularly concerned about the sticks used to hold placards in public demonstrations.

A.N.S.W.E.R.’s leaders have a history of supporting Communist totalitarianism. A.N.S.W.E.R. currently lists the Marxist organization “Party for Socialism and Liberation” as part of its Steering Committee on its home page web site. A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders have a history of supporting Communist totalitarian China and North Korea. A.N.S.W.E.R. leader have a long history of supporting Communism, with A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders’ writings from the Communist Worker’s World.

R.E.A.L. rejects A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders’ ideological support of Communism and Communist totalitarian governments, and R.E.A.L. rejects the bully tactics and physical intimidation tactics that we have seen ourselves from A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge white supremacist, Nazi, and supporters of any ideology of hate and violence to drop the burden of the hate of from their hearts, and to learn that violence is never the answer.

Choose Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.

— See also:

— R.E.A.L. Postings on Racial Supremacism

— R.E.A.L. Postings on Aryan Nazi Supremacism

— April 19, 2008 – SPLC: National Socialist Movement Rally in Washington DC

— Video of NSM Hate Rally in Washington DC

— April 7, 2010: ADL – ADL Director and Recovering Skinhead Interviewed on Iowa Public Radio

United Kingdom: Attack on Manchester-Area Mosque Caught on Video

A mosque in the Manchester area, Eccles, was attacked by vandals during the night who threw bricks through the mosque’s windows and removed fencing around the mosque. According to a report in the Manchester Evening News, five bricks were thrown through windows of the Eccles and Salford Mosque in Eccles, United Kingdom. Video of the attack was also captured on CCTV video cameras and is posted on YouTube.

The Manchester Evening News quotes Ali Anees, chairman of the Eccles and Salford Mosque, who told reporters that: “We have had problems regularly. In March, someone threw paint over the outside of the mosque and wrote graffiti. Then at about 2am last Saturday two men got into the grounds. One is on film throwing bricks which had been taken from a wall of a neighbouring building. They attacked the building twice in about 20 minutes. Three sections of the windows were smashed and bricks were found inside the office of the mosque. We had another incident in March when eggs were thrown at people leaving the mosque by people driving past. After a lot of damage was caused in 2006, we had people come forward to help us and in the last two years we have spent £425,000 on new buildings. We have up to 500 members and they are very angry about the attacks. We want the culprits caught.”

YouTube Video of Attack on Eccles Mosque