littlefieldjohn
April 25th, 2012, 01:10 PM
FRANKFORT, KY. — A neo-Nazi demonstration at the state Capitol ended peacefully Saturday(4/21/12) after more than an hour of white-separatist rhetoric and caustic shouting matches with those participating in a counterprotest.
About 50 members of the National Socialist Movement and the Ku Klux Klan brandished Nazi symbols, yelled “white power” and performed Nazi salutes from the Capitol steps as speakers called for political revolution.
Another 200 protesters — separated from the rally by a line of police — gathered on a side lawn to condemn the movement, holding up signs and chanting for the neo-Nazi demonstrators to “go home.”
But the clash never rose above insults and profanity, and the Frankfort police reported no arrests.
In the most heated moments, speakers from the neo-Nazi movement shouted rants against illegal immigrants, Jews, homosexuals and communists, and called for African Americans to return to Africa.
They accused the counterprotesters of treason against their own race and referred to them as inbred drug addicts.
“If you are black, we don’t want you back,” yelled one demonstrator.
But most of the speeches centered on policy — everything from high gas prices to education and welfare.
“The National Socialist Movement has been all over this country fighting for white civil rights,” said NSM commander Jeff Schoep. “We have a lot of support in this state, and we are going to continue to grow and expand in the state of Kentucky.”
Dozens of law enforcement officers from Frankfort police, the Franklin County sheriff’s office, Kentucky State Police and facilities security, maintained broad separation between the two groups.
Chris Hartman, who serves as director of the Fairness Campaign — which advocates for the rights of those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community — and helped organize the counterprotest, said people from more than a dozen social and advocacy organizations showed up to condemn the rally.
One waved a sign the read “nerds against hate.” Another read “no human being is illegal.”
“The goal was simply to take a stand against racism,” Hartman said. “To let the National Socialist Movement know that racism will not go unopposed in the commonwealth.”
Rachel Mendoza-Newton, an immigration attorney from Louisville, said she brought her 3-year-old son, Mark, to teach him about standing up against hate.
“A lot of times I would prefer to just ignore these idiots, but the climate in this country has gotten so toxic, and the racism has become so socially acceptable and pervasive, that I feel we can’t do that anymore,” she said.
Tony Allen of Frankfort said he wanted to see with his own eyes that “this foolishness still exists.” But he added that “I don’t want to stoop to their stupidity” by shouting back.
The Michigan-based group is known for violent anti-Jewish rhetoric, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Schoep, who lives in Detroit, said two chapters of the group operate in Kentucky, and Frankfort serves as the state headquarters. But he rejects the hate group label and said the KSM is nonviolent.
“We are a white civil rights organization,” he said. “Just as the blacks have people that stand up for their people, we are out here standing up for white people.”
Schoep said Frankfort was selected as a demonstration site because Kentucky has been impacted by illegal immigration and the recession.
Gov. Steve Beshear issued a statement earlier in the week saying the group’s message is “reprehensible” but that he respects free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The Kentucky Senate also passed a resolution Friday condemning the group while recognizing members’ right to demonstrate.
After the rally, Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton said the demonstrators were bused off the Capitol property to an undisclosed location where they planned to hold a party Friday night.
He said he didn’t expect any problems.
“Everything went really, really well today,” Melton said. “We live in America, and you have the right to be heard. They were exercising their rights, and the counterprotesters were able to exercise their rights of speech.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120421/NEWS01/304210055/Neo-Nazi-rally-counter-protest-underway?odyssey=nav%7Chead
http://www.nsm88.org/units/kentucky.html
About 50 members of the National Socialist Movement and the Ku Klux Klan brandished Nazi symbols, yelled “white power” and performed Nazi salutes from the Capitol steps as speakers called for political revolution.
Another 200 protesters — separated from the rally by a line of police — gathered on a side lawn to condemn the movement, holding up signs and chanting for the neo-Nazi demonstrators to “go home.”
But the clash never rose above insults and profanity, and the Frankfort police reported no arrests.
In the most heated moments, speakers from the neo-Nazi movement shouted rants against illegal immigrants, Jews, homosexuals and communists, and called for African Americans to return to Africa.
They accused the counterprotesters of treason against their own race and referred to them as inbred drug addicts.
“If you are black, we don’t want you back,” yelled one demonstrator.
But most of the speeches centered on policy — everything from high gas prices to education and welfare.
“The National Socialist Movement has been all over this country fighting for white civil rights,” said NSM commander Jeff Schoep. “We have a lot of support in this state, and we are going to continue to grow and expand in the state of Kentucky.”
Dozens of law enforcement officers from Frankfort police, the Franklin County sheriff’s office, Kentucky State Police and facilities security, maintained broad separation between the two groups.
Chris Hartman, who serves as director of the Fairness Campaign — which advocates for the rights of those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community — and helped organize the counterprotest, said people from more than a dozen social and advocacy organizations showed up to condemn the rally.
One waved a sign the read “nerds against hate.” Another read “no human being is illegal.”
“The goal was simply to take a stand against racism,” Hartman said. “To let the National Socialist Movement know that racism will not go unopposed in the commonwealth.”
Rachel Mendoza-Newton, an immigration attorney from Louisville, said she brought her 3-year-old son, Mark, to teach him about standing up against hate.
“A lot of times I would prefer to just ignore these idiots, but the climate in this country has gotten so toxic, and the racism has become so socially acceptable and pervasive, that I feel we can’t do that anymore,” she said.
Tony Allen of Frankfort said he wanted to see with his own eyes that “this foolishness still exists.” But he added that “I don’t want to stoop to their stupidity” by shouting back.
The Michigan-based group is known for violent anti-Jewish rhetoric, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Schoep, who lives in Detroit, said two chapters of the group operate in Kentucky, and Frankfort serves as the state headquarters. But he rejects the hate group label and said the KSM is nonviolent.
“We are a white civil rights organization,” he said. “Just as the blacks have people that stand up for their people, we are out here standing up for white people.”
Schoep said Frankfort was selected as a demonstration site because Kentucky has been impacted by illegal immigration and the recession.
Gov. Steve Beshear issued a statement earlier in the week saying the group’s message is “reprehensible” but that he respects free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The Kentucky Senate also passed a resolution Friday condemning the group while recognizing members’ right to demonstrate.
After the rally, Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton said the demonstrators were bused off the Capitol property to an undisclosed location where they planned to hold a party Friday night.
He said he didn’t expect any problems.
“Everything went really, really well today,” Melton said. “We live in America, and you have the right to be heard. They were exercising their rights, and the counterprotesters were able to exercise their rights of speech.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120421/NEWS01/304210055/Neo-Nazi-rally-counter-protest-underway?odyssey=nav%7Chead
http://www.nsm88.org/units/kentucky.html