In Warwick, Rhode Island, the Temple Am David synagogue was vandalized by hate mongers putting graffiti including a backwards swastika and racial slurs on the synagogue. A member of Temple Am David, Paula Oliveri, told news media that the synagogue works with the community and with Holocaust survivors. The police are reviewing surveillance footage from the synagogue’s cameras.
If you have information regarding those responsible, you are urged to contact the Warwick Police Department: Phone Number: (401) 468-4200, Crime Stoppers Tip Line: 732-8477(732-TIPS).
The Associated Press reports that “Police Chief Stephen McCartney says if the vandalism is determined to be a hate crime, the perpetrator could face stiffer penalties. State Jewish leaders say the vandalism may have been sparked by the Israeli commando raid on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that left nine people dead.”
NBC 10 News asked Temple Am David Cantor Richard Perlman if the attacks may be linked to Gaza, and he told the NBC 10 News “I certainly hope that his has nothing at all to do with that. However, one would be silly to believe that that may not be a possibility. What’s going on in the Gaza is a terrible thing.”
(Note: From our experience in covering Nazi hate crime, it would appear that most committed Nazis involved in hate crimes usually know how to draw the Nazi swastika correctly, rather than “backwards,” suggesting that perhaps the vandal was someone other than a Nazi.)
Warwick police are investigating the spray-painting of a swastika and part of a racial slur on the exterior of Temple Am David in Warwick, Rhode Island. Notably, the swastika is "backwards" from a Nazi swastika. (Photo: The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson)
Gettysburg Times reports on planned June 19, 2010 Aryan Nations Nazi Rally and Gettysburg Times also reports on the plans of the YWCA to hold meetings on peace, and another group to hold a separate event that same date. The Gettysburg Times has also reported on the YWCA’s efforts in a report “Peace promoters want message to resonate beyond Aryan rally,” stating that “Those [interested in the YWCA peace efforts] who cannot attend, but would like to be informed of the planning process, should contact Andyshak Hayes at 717-334-9171, ext. 113 or aahayes@ywcagettysburg.org.”
Gettysburg Times: “As community members continue to hold meetings at the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County to promote peace during the Aryan Nation’s June 19 visit to Gettysburg, the event is beginning to draw national attention.” “Knight Sor, conciliation specialist for the United States Department of Justice, attended Monday evening’s meeting. Sor told roughly 20 people at Monday evening’s meeting that a group known as 4 Civil Rights received a permit for the same date, time and place as the Aryan Nation to demonstrate. ” “According to Sor, 4 Civil Rights will hold a peace rally on the east lawn of the Cyclorama on June 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. No one at the meeting was aware of this group or its receiving a permit at the same time as the Aryan Nation. Sor said that the permit is under the name Carlene J. Mayers.”
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:10 AM EDT
Gettysburg Police Department has signed an agreement to provide law enforcement services next month when a white supremacist group rallies at Gettysburg National Military Park. The nine-member Gettysburg Borough Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve its resolution with the Park Service for the June 19 event. “We have to put whatever police we have there, in case something comes up,” GPD Chief Joe Dougherty said regarding the event, scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. near the old Cyclorama Center. Taxpayers are underwriting the cost of staffing the Aryan Nation event with law enforcement. U.S. Park Service Police and Cumberland Township Police are also likely to attend the rally. “We pay our own bill, they pay their own, and neither one gets repaid by either side,” said Dougherty, noting that overtime is a budgeted expense. Law enforcement costs are not finalized at this time, but in 2006, when the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a similar Gettysburg Battlefield rally, taxpayers forked over $64,000 for law enforcement. The KKK was not charged, and the Aryan Nation won’t be charged June 19, with the Park Service citing freedom of speech issues. “It’s very similar to the agreement we had when the Ku Klux Klan was here years ago,” explained Gettysburg Mayor William E. Troxell. Borough police logged 21 hours of overtime at the 2006 rally, and were paid $1,157. Borough Council Solicitor Harold A. Eastman Jr. explained that the borough was approached by the Park Service for the police presence. He described the pact as a “cooperative agreement,” and proactive, in case a police incident transpires. “It’s a safety net in case things go badly,” said Eastman. “Everything will be in place ahead of time.” Veteran Councilman Ted Streeter recounted the 2006 event, noting that the KKK was quarantined in a fenced-off area, and there was no spill-over into the borough. The rally, held on a rainy afternoon, drew 200-300 people, and there were no reported police incidents. “They all go home, and you wouldn’t know they were here if you didn’t go see it,” Streeter said Monday night. Dougherty reported that the “biggest impact” the event is expected to have upon the borough is road closures, with Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue. As an alternative to the Aryan rally, the local YWCA is planning a family-oriented event to draw attention from the neo-Nazi rally. “We don’t really expect any problems,” said Chief Dougherty. “The majority of everything involved is going to be taken care of by the National Park Service,” said Chief Dougherty, adding that federally-trained officers are attending the event. Four citizens attended the 50-minute session Monday night, as council continues its “six-month experiment” in holding two monthly business meetings. The board also approved its annual allocation of $150,000 in state Community Development Block Grant funding, with $80,000 going to American with Disability Act upgrades throughout town, and $40,000 to code enforcement work.
— AP reported on May 20, 2010 that “The National Park Service has approved a permit for a white supremacist group to hold a rally at Gettysburg National Military Park next month.”
— “The Aryan Nations group plans a rally June 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. near the old Cyclorama Center.”
— “Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said the park is obligated to make the land available to the public to exercise their free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”
— “The group has said it plans speeches and discussions of current issues such as immigration and homosexuality.”
— “Police believe they have ‘eliminated; the West Australian chapter of a neo-Nazi group with the arrest of two men charged with shooting at a Perth mosque. In the early hours of Thursday, February 4, three shots were fired into the dome roof of the Suleymaniye Mosque, in the southeastern suburb of Queens Park.”
….
— “The pair, a 25-year-old Greenmount man and a 24-year-old High Wycombe man, are allegedly part of the extreme nationalist group Combat 18 (C18). They have been charged with one count each of causing criminal damage, discharging a firearm across a road and possessing an unlicensed firearm. After Tuesday’s arrests, Inspector Rob Anderson police said believed they had effectively disbanded Perth’s C18 chapter. ‘Two of those offenders we will allege are members of C18, an organisation specialising in hate crime and neo-Nazi affiliated,’ Insp Anderson said. ‘As a result of today’s operation, we are confident that we have more or less eliminated that faction within WA.’ Originally based in the UK, C18 has chapters all over the world and is based on the ideas of neo-Nazism and white supremacy. The number 18 is derived from the initials of Adolf Hitler with A and H being the first and eighth letter of the alphabet. A 19-year-old old Kalamunda man was also charged with one count of possessing an unlicensed firearm.”
“The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has established an endowment fund in memory of a security guard slain there.”
“Stephen Tyrone Johns was gunned down last June 10 by 88-year-old white supremacist James Wenneker von Brunn of Maryland during an attempted raid on the museum. Johns died from his injuries shortly after the attack.”
“To pay tribute to the officer, the museum has established the Stephen Tyrone Johns Summer Youth Leadership Program Endowment Fund. Under the program, 50 Washington-area teens will participate in a summer program to learn about the lessons of the Holocaust.”
“A fund established to assist the Johns family was closed last October.”
“Von Brunn was shot and critically wounded in the exchange of gunfire at the museum. He died Jan. 6 while awaiting trial in the case.”
Stephen Tyrone Johns Will Not Die in Vain (Photo: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum)
A “white supremacist who idolized Adolf Hitler” was sent to prison for 10 years in a court decision in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2010. Ian Davison was jailed for making chemical weapons, and reportedly made enough ricin to murder nine individuals. Ian Davison was a member of the “Aryan Strike Force.” His son received a sentence of 2 years in prison.
UK: Aryan Strike Force's Ian and Nicky Davison Sent to Prison
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We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge Nazis, white supremacist, racial supremacist, and those who promote violence and hate 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. We condemn all those who seek violence and murder is the path to advancing any cause.
— Daily Press reports:
— “Man admits vandalism guilt
— “Norfolk — A man entered a guilty plea Thursday to vandalizing a Norfolk synagogue with anti-Semitic stickers, and a judge put him on probation.”
— “Christopher John Brooks, 25, entered a guilty plea to one count of injury to cemetery or church. He had been in jail since his arrest in April 2009. He was given a five-year sentence, with all of the time suspended except for the year that he had already served.”
— “A co-defendant in the case, John Edward Grogran, 30, pleaded guilty to similar charges in February and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.”
Montana media are reporting on 200 residents protesting a pro-Nazi film that was shown at a public library in Kalispell, Montana by the group Pioneer Little Europe (P.L.E.) intended to recruit white supremacists to join that group. The P.L.E. film was shown by former Nazi Aryan Nations member Karl Gharst, who court documents have described as a “white supremacist.” Karl Gharst has served time in jail for felony threats. Gharst plans to show a Holocaust Denial film, “The Truth Behind the Gates of Auschwitz,” on May 29. On March 29, Karl Gharst showed a film “The Holocaust Debate.” In addition to Karl Gharst, the P.L.E. organizers included couple April Gaede and Mark Harrington, who were arrested on charges of simple assault and criminal mischief associated with a scuffle that resulted in knocking a camera out of one of the protester’s hands and breaking it.
Flathead Beacon: “Nazi Film Shown at Library Draws Hundreds of Protesters” — “Holding signs reading ‘No Neo-Nazis,’ and ‘No Hate in My Backyard,’ hundreds of valley residents turned out Thursday evening to protest the showing at the library in Kalispell of the film, ‘Epic: The Story of the Waffen SS,’ a film that takes an admiring view of the combat arm of the Nazis during World War II.”
— “It was the second film shown at the library by Kalispell resident Karl Gharst, who on March 29 screened a movie debating whether the Jewish Holocaust really occurred. Gharst said he planned to show a film titled, ‘The Truth Behind the Gates of Auschwitz,’ on May 29, and he plans other events for the summer.”
Daily Inter Lake reports: Pair arrested during Nazi movie protest — “Two members of a white separatist group were arrested during a protest over a pro-Nazi film shown at the Flathead County Library on Thursday night.”
— “Married couple Mark Harrington, 42, and April Gaede, 44, of Kalispell, who helped organize the film’s screening, were arrested by Kalispell Police on charges of simple assault and criminal mischief for their involvement in a scuffle that knocked the camera out of a protester’s hand and broke its flash.”
— KCFW: Tensions rise over alleged white supremacist movement
— KCFW reports: “Tensions rose Thursday evening as protesters and alleged white supremacists scuffled outside the Flathead County Library. The scene started remarkably quiet. For the second time in a month, a group called Pioneer Little Europe reserved a room at the library for a film showing. Protesters gathered early showing disapproval of what they see as an effort to recruit members to the group by showing an anti-semitic film. It’s the second time in a month. P.L.E. members tell us they believe in a white, European North America.”
— “Police say it was a fairly peaceful protest. That was until police escorted two members of P.L.E out in handcuffs. We’re told the P.L.E. members removed tonight are identified as April Gaede and Mark Harrington who are two of the P.L.E. organizers. Police say the two were arrested when they clashed with protesters taking photos.”
Daily Inter Lake also reports:
— “An estimated 200 people had crowded around the library to protest “Epic: The Story of the Waffen SS,” which apparently takes an admiring view of the combat arm of the Nazis during World War II. The film was screened by a white separatist group called Kalispell Pioneer Little Europe.”
— “Pioneer Little Europe members Harrington and Gaede moved to Kalispell from Bakersfield, Calif., in 2006 because of what they called the area’s racial tensions and since then have been active members in the white separatist movement.”
Montana residents protest showing of Nazi film
— AP reports: “Hundreds of Montana residents crowded around a library to protest a pro-Nazi film being shown by a white separatist group called Kalispell Pioneer Little Europe.”
— “It was the second film shown at the Flathead County Library by Karl Gharst, who on March 29 screened a movie debating whether the Jewish Holocaust really occurred. He says he plans to show another film, ‘The Truth Behind the Gates of Auschwitz,’ on May 29, and he plans other events for the summer.”
On April 27, 2010 The northwest Montana newspaper the Daily Inter Lake reported (by Jim Mann) reproted “Protest to greet supremacist film showing”
— The Daily Inter Lake reported “A protest is being organized Thursday against a planned showing of a film that advances ‘white-supremacy, anti-Semitism propaganda’ at the Flathead County Library in Kalispell.”
— “A similar protest happened when a film called ‘The Holocaust Debate’ was shown at the library in early April.”
— “That screening was organized by Karl Gharst, a Flathead Valley resident with former ties to a white supremacist group in Hayden Lake, Idaho.”
— “People who walked out of the screening characterized the film as a ‘Holocaust denial film.'”
— “The protest this week is being supported ‘by an alliance of faith-based ministries,’ according to a press release for the event.”
— “The alliance is urging those interested to turn out at the library at 6 p.m. with protest signs and cameras.”
— “‘If everyone brings their camera and actively takes pictures of the bad guys going in and out, it will be immensely effective in running them back under their rock,’ the release states.”
— “In 2004, Gharst was convicted in Flathead County District Court of threatening a social worker with the state Department of Health and Human Services.”
— “At the time, Gharst was from Hayden Lake, Idaho, and was described in court documents as ‘a self-admitted member of the Aryan Nations and a white supremacist,’ according to Inter Lake archives.”
— “Gharst originally was charged with a felony for threatening the state employee, calling her a ‘filthy mongrel’ and a ‘wild savage from the Flathead Indian Reservation,’ but eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.”
— “In a final exchange with District Judge Ted Lympus, Gharst called the judge foul names and acknowledged him with a Nazi salute.”
— “Gharst served five months in jail and was put on probation for two years.”
Montana: Photo of April 29 Protest of Nazi Film (Photo: KCFW)Montana: Photo of April 29 Protest of Nazi Film (Photo: Flathead Beacon/Lido Vizzutti)Montana: Photo of April 29 Protest of Nazi Film (Photo: Flathead Beacon/Lido Vizzutti)Screenshot of Stormfront Hate Group Forum Promoting April 29 Nazi Film in Montana
To those who believe that it is acceptable or humorous for mobs to violently attack those with Nazi groups or wearing Nazi garb, we ask you a simple question: who do you think is the real Nazi then? Them or you?
Los Angeles Nazi Rally - Man with Swastika Tattoos Being Attacked (Photo: AP/Richard Vogel)
For full disclosure, the Nazi and white supremacist crowd knows that I am a dedicated opponent of their ideologies of hate. For nearly nine years, I have been reporting on Nazi threats around the world and the United States, and since 2005, I have had a dedicated web site “AgainstNazi.com” that addresses Nazi hate and their organizational activities. Here at the Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) human rights group web site, we have a category on Aryan Nazi Supremacism where we report on Nazi hate and atrocities that continue today; we have similar categories of reports on racial supremacism and on the Stormfront group. R.E.A.L.’s challenges to the “white nationalist” Stormfront group, led by a former member of the American Nazi Party Don Black, has garnered us threats for our public awareness efforts, including threats by numerous “white nationalist” groups who have tried to publish information about me to allow others to attack my home and family. Other Stormfront forum members post images about using guns on those who defy them. We have reported on Stormfront forum members conviction on terror plots, and frequently reported on Stormfront forum members supportforterrorism,violence, and hate. A Nazi who was a writer for the National Vanguard has written false, slanderous, and defamatory articles about me and others to try to defame us, as has a Nazi from the National Alliance. Moreover, “white nationalists” from both the Occidental Dissent and American Renaissance have sought to personally attack me and even seek a “war” against me. To the Nazis and white supremacists, our message has been “we are not afraid.”
So let me set the record straight – I am no apologist, no supporter, and no appeaser of Nazi or white supremacist ideologies.
In America and around the world, we all have human rights. We disagree, we oppose views we disagree with, we even protest one another.
But when people take that disagreement to threats or actual violence, there should be no question – you have committed A CRIME.
One can rationalize threats and violence all they want, but a crime is a crime. A criminal is a criminal.
To those who believe that support, rationalize, or make jokes about opposing Nazis in America with mob violence and physical threats, I ask you – are you opposing Nazis, or becoming one?
The UPI reports about the recent Philadelphia mob attack on Nazis that “Three men who showed up in full Nazi regalia at a punk show in a Philadelphia club were attacked afterward outside by approximately 50 people, witnesses said… An witness told the newspaper the crowd punched and kicked the men in Nazi garb and used beer bottles and cue balls as weapons although Internet message boards said the attack was not quite so violent.” AOL News reports: “Witnesses said the men were mocked inside the Khyber club Friday night for sporting tattoos of Nazi symbols and wearing camouflaged combat pants, WWII-style coats emblazoned with SS emblems and Third Reich hats with Nazi insignias.” A blog report states that “The three victims barely made it 50 yards before the angry crowd set upon them. One Nazi was caught right in the middle of 2nd street as punches, kicks, bottles, boots and blows rained down upon his prone and turtled body. He could be heard crying for help all up and down the block. The other two were caught nearby and beaten severely as more weapons appeared.”
The reports lead to an obvious question: Which ones are the Nazis again? The ones with the ridiculous outfits or the mob that beat them?
You know the answer, and it is a disturbing trend that R.E.A.L. sees too many justifying or laughing about political violence in America today. There are no “heroes” in political violence, especially in a democratic nation, not among those who would spit on Congressmen or throwbricks through their office windows, not those who would fly a plane into an IRS building, not those who would attack the Pentagon, and not even those who would believe they are justified in violent attacks on Nazis in Los Angeles and now in Philadelphia. Yes, they are all different circumstances, and you may like some victims and not others. But in every case of such political violence, there are no heroes, there are just criminals.
Two months ago in February 2010, we were disgusted to see those praising terrorist Joe Stack as a “hero,” and then appalled to find those who felt that it was humorous to describe such a terrorist murderer of an American veteran as “someone simply going out with a bang.” America’s freedoms allow such freedom of speech and freedom of press – even when it is despicable. But mocking those who are victims of political violence is the one sure way to start to degrade and undermine such American freedoms.
So it was particularly disturbing to see a Philadelphia tabloid newspaper that reported the April 27 attack on Nazis as “Concertgoers show the Reich stuff, are beaten by crowd,” with a mocking first sentence of the report on the victims of violence that reads “How did they Nazi this coming?” The new report also includes an email from someone apparently gloating about the attack on the Nazis “And they did get their asses kicked… Again.”
When did reporting on political violence in the news media become the source of mockery and gloating? What message does any reporter think that this sends to those who believe that violence is an acceptable approach to those we don’t like and don’t agree with?
I tried to reach the young writer of this article for a Philadelphia tabloid newspaper, but instead spoke to the editor that approved it. I explained to the editor our position in opposing Nazi hate, but also pointed out our opposition to such mob violence, and the editor explained his family’s suffering during the Holocaust. The editor explained to me that a tabloid newspaper has a different style than a broadsheet newspaper, and has different titles intended to grab readers’ attention. The editor further explained that the headline “Concertgoers show the Reich stuff, are beaten by crowd” had garnered the most online attention to the tabloid newpaper’s report, and people reading about the story ensured that it got reported. The editor further stated that the report did not “take sides on the issue.”
Imagine for a moment, however, if the mob violence wasn’t against an ideology as universally rejected as Nazism, but was against another ideology, perhaps another political party, another identity group, another race, religion, gender. Would it still be “funny?” Would it still be “clever”? And would reporting the boasting from an attendee at the club about victims of violence getting “their asses kicked” still be responsible journalism? But the general idea that many have is, because it is about Nazis, well, that’s acceptable, essentially because we don’t agree or respect their views that somehow they are less of a human being than anyone else. You don’t have to be a human rights activist to recognize that such thinking is simply wrong. Hate is hate and violence is violence.
There is one nation that accepted the view of using threats and physical violence against those that they disliked and disagreed. Political violence was their primary tool in silencing dissent, in taking over the government, in oppressing others who were different from them. Their media consistently mocked and degraded the victims of such hate and violence. You know that nation whose leaders and whose people embraced such hate and political violence. It was called Nazi Germany, and it was led by Adolf Hitler. It was the same Nazi Germany, whose “final solution” was the Holocaust of 6 million Jews, something that America could have and did not stop.
This year, we remembered the Holocaust on April 11, 2010. We remembered the Holocaust at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, where I recently wheeled a older, black Christian woman in wheelchair around that weekend so that she too could see the consequences of hate. We remember the Holocaust annually at our nation’s capital, people of all nationalities, all races, and all religions, and hold a reading of the names of the victims at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum – by average people who are dedicated to never forget. This year my wife and I read names together at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
We remember the Holocaust. But what have we learned from it? What have the mobs in Los Angeles and now in Philadelphia learned from it?
You would think that nearly 70 years after the start of the mass killings at the Holocaust that we would have learned some lessons about humanity, the cancer of political violence, and the virus of hate. But what have we learned when too many think that political violence is acceptable? What we have learned when some rationalize mob violence against those whose views we despise? As political violence is becoming increasingly “acceptable,” what path is OUR nation on today?
When we say “Never Again,” that includes America too.
We must never forget the tragic and horrific lessons of the results of hate and political violence – then and now. “Never again” does not only mean never allowing such atrocities again, it also means never becoming like those who rationalized and laughed about hate and political violence.
But you have a choice. You can choose to not let hate and fear rule your life, your decisions, and your way of dealing with the world. You can choose to reject hate’s political violence as acceptable, justifiable, or even humorous.
You have the power and the ability to shape your actions, your nation’s future, and humanity’s destiny.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty Asks You to Choose Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
