Let the street-fights begin
by digby
Aaand now we have street clashes between Nazis and "anti-fascists." Awesome.
At least five people were stabbed, with some injured critically, during clashes between rallying neo-Nazis and counter-protesters at the Capitol in Sacramento on Sunday, fire officials said.
Five patients were transported to local hospitals with stab wounds, said Chris Harvey, public information officer for the Sacramento Fire Department. Several other people suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises but were not taken to the hospital, Harvey said.
"It was quite a bit of a melee," Harvey said, mentioning that several different groups had descended on the Capitol, including counter-protesters.
Harvey said he did not know which groups the stabbing victims were from.
Emergency responders got the call at roughly 11:45 am. The victims were spread out over the Capitol grounds, which covers multiple blocks in downtown Sacramento, Harvey said. As of 12:45 p.m. the crowds had been dispersed and most protesters had left the area.
The Traditionalist Worker Party, a white supremacist, anti-immigration group, was holding a march Sunday “to protest against globalization and in defense of the right to free expression,” according to the group’s website. The members appeared to be vastly outnumbered by counter-protesters, who held up signs that read “Nazi scum,” according to photos and videos posted on social media.
An organizer of the rally who wasn’t at the Capitol, said on a web live stream that one person from his group had been stabbed and was being transported to the hospital.
“They got one of us but we got six of them,” he said.
Gosh, this reminds of me something. I can't quite put my finger on it. Don't worry, it will come to me.
The good news is that nobody used a semi-automatic weapon to mow down people in the crowd. There would have been dozens dead on the ground. Small consolation, I know. But this is what passes for a silver lining these days.
Update: Here's some more info:
No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon, but the original, permitted neo-Nazi rally was officially cancelled, ABC10 reported. That rally was to include factions from the Traditionalist Workers Party, Golden State Skinheads, Blood & Honor, National Socialist Movement and Ku Klux Klan, CBS reported.
The neo-Nazi group had planned a demonstration for several weeks, The LA Times reported, and counter protesters were evidently well organized and prepared for the event. Many carried signs or banners with slogans such as "Many colors one working class! Smash patriarchy and racism." Several protesters had their faces covered with black cloth.
Video shot by an ABC10 reporter of several fights showed the two groups bashing each other with sticks and throwing objects in a violent, chaotic fracas. Blood stains were visible on the ground and several of those involved were bleeding following the fights, including two neo-Nazis visibly bleeding from their heads.
Police officers witnessed a Klan member stab someone with a knife, an officer told CBS. A counter protester was also found stabbed inside a vehicle, CBS reported.
California Highway Patrol officers managed to break up the fights, but some members of both groups remained in the area for a time.
The Southern Poverty Law Center described TWP as a group formed in 2015 as the political wing of the Traditionalist Youth Network, which aims to "indoctrinate high school and college students into white nationalism."
They're feeling their oats these days aren't they? I wonder why?
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