White supremacists stir up opposition on the Los Angeles City Hall lawn

As hundreds of demonstrators surrounded Los Angeles City Hall and shouted "Nazis go home," about 40 white supremacists stood and waved swastika flags at a rally closely monitored by the Los Angeles Police Department.

"We are tired of you clogging up our streets," shouted one white supremacist of the National Socialist Movement. Another group member repeatedly denounced illegal aliens, saying, "If the city supports illegal aliens and criminals, that is treason."

Word of the group's rally, which was held behind a cordon of yellow police tape, attracted a variety of groups staging counter-demonstrations. At least two people were badly beaten in the ramp-up to the rally and one woman collapsed for unknown reasons.

"Why would we choose Los Angeles for a rally?" one of the socialist movement members asked. "Because it's the front line," he said."It is the belly of the beast."

About 50 feet away, police in riot gear separated neo-Nazi protesters from the hundreds of angry counter-protesters.
 
The latter chanted "Nazis go home,"  beat drums and thrust middle fingers in the air. Counter-protesters on the south lawn of City Hall drowned out the words of a Nazi protest leader's amplified speech.
 
They chanted, "Whose streets? Our streets!"
 
Several fights preceded the appearance of the supremacist group. One involved a man holding a sign with flames and a swastika. The man, who was carrying a bullhorn, was suddenly rushed by a mob of counter- demonstrators and beaten near the corner of Spring and 1st streets.

The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, was punched in the face and kicked for about 20 seconds by protesters, many of them wearing bandannas.

About a dozen police in riot gear rushed from near City Hall, running straight into the center of the mob.
 
"Police!" members of the mob screamed, running down Spring Street.

Once police broke up the mob, the man with the sign began running south on Spring Street. One man caught up with him and slugged him in the face; he collapsed and his face hit the curb. He was quickly surrounded by a mob again until police caught up and pushed the counter-protesters away with their batons.

The man was then escorted away by police as blood spilled from the back of his head.
 
His sign, broken into pieces, was left behind on the street. It read: "Christianity = Paganism" and had an arrow pointing to a swastika. 

It wasn't clear if the man was a white supremacist. 

"Gosh, I think he just didn't have a clear message. I don't even think he was a Nazi," said one man, looking at the broken pieces of the sign. 


-- Robert Faturechi and Richard Winton

Comments

[Pizzedoff]

The intellectually deficient simpathizers and their illegal law breaking constituants yell "Nazis go home,"...!
So brilliant they are; Amerika IS the home of nazism. Instead of Hitlers master race, these confused anti-demonstrators miss the point of the mega-corporations perfecting their 'master business model' on their pliable little heads.
The left and right don't even realize that they both are one and the same. Only anarchy stands aside from the above storied lunacy.
Meanwhile, up in Santa Barbara's Alemeda Park the one world huggers are celebrating Earth Day.... as if the Earth actually gives a damn about a humanity so messed up.

[Bob Franklin]

I'm not commenting on the violence mentioned in the article, but can anyone tell me why white supremacists are always kind of redneck knuckleheads?

Just wonderin'...

[farah]

well, there is no end to the surprises the city of angels throws our way...

[truther]

Bandana-wearing thugs who chase down protesters and beat them up need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. It doesn't matter whether they were standing up to neo Nazis or anyone else.

[marymary]

Was Jesse James there? lol

[RacoKev]

Will the headline read: "White men beaten at rally"

[Dave]

Fighting hate with hate = FAIL

[Wilton Melrose]

Probably a dumb question but were any of the bandanaa-wearing thugs who committed the assault and battery on the unknown man arrested?

[My opinon means nothing]

Only 40? That's all they could muster up? What a joke! Sounds like there where more opposers of them! It also looks like the opposers where also more laks in their behavior! How could anybody tell them apart!

[Miguel Leal]

Welcome back Aztlan, what Los Angeles used to be and look like before it was stolen by White Protestants.

[Aquma]

Poor and working class people fighting other poor and working class people. For what? Why can't we all direct this rage at the those who pit us against each other?

[JinAz]

These white supremacists base their beliefs on hate and intimidation. They are the worst of the worst morally, and insist they are better than non-whites. Their the last of a dying breed that started in the deep south against slavery and somehow a handlful of these thugs think they are caring on god's word.

[Kristian]

Sounds to me that the actions of some individuals in the counter-protest mob would amount to hate crimes. Attacking people based on the color of their skin and the opinions they express is hate crime, as far as I know. Even if your opinion is abhorrent or racist, no one has the right to attack you because you are exercising your constitutionally protected rights.

[Alessio]

Nice advertisement for black/brown people. Beating a lone white guy with a sign that had an unclear message. Hate crime? Racism? Oh no, it only goes one way in this country. Thanks people for showing you are barbarians, way to help the world move forward...

[Jesse]

Look who caused the violence today? Not the "neo Nazis!" The only time the word "supremacist" is used, is when the biased media use it. When the latino La Raza (which means The Race) has a demonstration, why doesn't the LA Times report it as "brown supremacist?" The group that held a rally has a legit concern: billions of dollars spent on illegal immigrants and related drugs & crime. According to US DOJ statistics, over 50,000 white women are raped by minorities each year. Less than 10 blacks- nation wide- are raped by whites each year! Educate yourself!

[thomas mc]

Are you sure it wasn't just another Tea Party rally?
It's getting really hard to tell them apart.

[vladimir998]

This is the same rally at which a number of black thugs attacked a white man exercising his first amendment rights.

[Muezza the Cat]

Let us all thank the Republican Party and the Tea Party and Glen Beck , Sarah Palin and some of our GOV Representatives,such as Ms. Backmann, for inciting such things to happen in the streets of Los Angeles. The scream and scream about "socialist in the White House"and Reload, and this is the out come. Thanks guys, as if we didn't have enough problems right? You people are responsible for this, you Know who you are...

[bkl]

I am so glad that not having a clear message on your sign means you will get beat up in LA. Randy Newman forever! I Love LA!

[Harry]

"We are tired of you clogging up our streets," shouted one white supremacist of the National Socialist Movement. Another group member repeatedly denounced illegal aliens, saying, "If the city supports illegal aliens and criminals, that is treason."

========================================================

I wonder who they voted for president during the California primary 2 years ago??

Was it "Mr. Amnesty" John McCain whom they voted for??? Was it Hillary??? If so, these white supremacists are a bunch of punks who should be dragged out into the streets by hordes of illegal aliens and beat the crap out of them, stars and blues, until they've learned a hard lesson not to vote for someone who's pandering to the interests of the illegals and Mexico.

[Elconservador]

Two citizens beaten by mob in front of LAPD and NO ARRESTS??? How much further can LAPD embarass itself and its city by this incompetence. A once proud law enforcement agency is now second rate and coverted into a Metrasexual force that is too afraid to protect the constituional rights of all citizens (even scum like Nazis). I guess the Nazis should have claimed to be hollywood stars in order to get protection...SHAMEFULL

[Art]

--"Why would we choose Los Angeles for a rally?" one of the socialist movement members asked. "Because it's the front line," he said."It is the belly of the beast."--

Your reporters don't seem to know the difference between fascism and socialism. Nazis are fascists, not socialists. Historically, they rose to power in Germany in opposition to socialism and Soviet Communism.

[Manuel]

Wannabe Nazis, neo-Nazis and white supremacists should know that if they come to L.A., their hate-filled diatribe will not be tolerated. Los Angeles is not a city where you come to spread ignorance and violence without any repercussions.

[Lee B.]

Wonder what the white supremacists thought about our multi-racial police force?

[Sven]

Sadly it is often the tolerant, progressive protesters who start the violence at the KKK, Nazi rallies. That should trouble any observer.
I've seen many of these rallies and it is always the people protesting the extremists who throw bottles, rocks and assault, Doesn't that fly in the face of it all? Crazy.