Rasp
Senior Editor
NSM rally planned in Olympia on July 3rd
Neo-Nazis return to peace-loving city for demonstration
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A small band of neo-Nazis plans to mark Independence Day weekend with a public demonstration at the state Capitol, the third attempt this year to stir up attention in this peace-loving, socially liberal college town.
The event is almost certain to draw a large crowd of counter-demonstrators, and the State Patrol has been planning its security measures for weeks. But community activists, wary of violent reactions the group has provoked elsewhere, are betting on a largely placid response.
"This is a peaceful community," said Reiko Callner, of Olympia's Unity in the Community group. "We don't want our people to fight, we don't want bad behavior, we don't wa
nt to descend to their level."
Local members of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group based in Minneapolis, have advertised the July 3 rally as a regional gathering and say they're welcoming supporters from California, Nevada, Oregon and other Western states.
Their permit to demonstrate at the Capitol anticipates a crowd of about 100, but neo-Nazi organizers admit they're more likely to have about 30 people on hand.
That is not discouraging for the National Socialist Movement, which has encountered similar scenarios elsewhere but still gleaned publicity with its message and the reaction of opponents, who tend to vastly outnumber the neo-Nazis and their supporters.
"I'm not concerned about the 10-to-one odds that we face. As long as we can get out and talk to the people, that's our intention," said John Brandt of Everett, a National Socialist Movement member helping to organize the rally.
"I want to see plenty — and I mean a lot — of people there w
ho are at least open-minded enough to give us a hearing, to listen to our speeches and then judge," said Gary J. Nemeth, a neo-Nazi organizer from Tacoma.
Experts say the National Socialist Movement, or NSM, has become the leading group of its kind in the country following the deaths and incarcerations of other top white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
The planned Olympia rally follows two other events in Washington's capital city, also home to a vigorous anti-war movement and The Evergreen State College, a small campus know for its devotion to liberal causes.
Each of the previous gatherings was characterized by fewer than 10 neo-Nazis and more than 100 protesters, but no significant confrontations or arrests were reported.
The outcome has been more violent elsewhere.
In April, Michigan police said rocks were thrown at some police as about 75 neo-Nazis left a rally in Lansing. Windows of a police van were broken, and police reported 16 arrests, mostly for misdemeanors.
I
n February, fistfights broke out when neo-Nazi supporters and opponents clashed in Orlando, Fla. More than a dozen people were arrested.
A march in Toledo, Ohio, last October sparked rioting, with burned buildings and more than 100 arrests. The group demonstrated in Toledo again in December with far fewer problems.
Such events help the group grab headlines and further its recruiting efforts, said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., which monitors hate groups.
"The main characteristic of this group is that they are into staging belligerent public stunts," Potok said. "The classic NSM demonstration is 15 Nazis marching in a circle, surrounded by 60 police, and surrounded by 200 counter-protesters."
The group's calling card is demonstrating in mock-ups of German Nazi uniforms, complete with black boots, brown shirts and swastika armbands — both to revere the original Nazis and distinguish themselves in public, group members said.
"If you sp
ort the suit and tie, you kind of look like Republican-lite," Brandt said. "We want to make a clear distinction between us and other political parties in the U.S."
Callner, who dismissed the group as "glamor Nazis," said opponents have been torn between the urge to confront the group and the desire not to be provoked by its actions.
"We must tolerate these bozos' right to free speech," Callner said. "But the response to odious speech protected by the First Amendment is more and better speech."
:Swastika2:
Neo-Nazis return to peace-loving city for demonstration
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A small band of neo-Nazis plans to mark Independence Day weekend with a public demonstration at the state Capitol, the third attempt this year to stir up attention in this peace-loving, socially liberal college town.
The event is almost certain to draw a large crowd of counter-demonstrators, and the State Patrol has been planning its security measures for weeks. But community activists, wary of violent reactions the group has provoked elsewhere, are betting on a largely placid response.
"This is a peaceful community," said Reiko Callner, of Olympia's Unity in the Community group. "We don't want our people to fight, we don't want bad behavior, we don't wa
nt to descend to their level."
Local members of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group based in Minneapolis, have advertised the July 3 rally as a regional gathering and say they're welcoming supporters from California, Nevada, Oregon and other Western states.
Their permit to demonstrate at the Capitol anticipates a crowd of about 100, but neo-Nazi organizers admit they're more likely to have about 30 people on hand.
That is not discouraging for the National Socialist Movement, which has encountered similar scenarios elsewhere but still gleaned publicity with its message and the reaction of opponents, who tend to vastly outnumber the neo-Nazis and their supporters.
"I'm not concerned about the 10-to-one odds that we face. As long as we can get out and talk to the people, that's our intention," said John Brandt of Everett, a National Socialist Movement member helping to organize the rally.
"I want to see plenty — and I mean a lot — of people there w
ho are at least open-minded enough to give us a hearing, to listen to our speeches and then judge," said Gary J. Nemeth, a neo-Nazi organizer from Tacoma.
Experts say the National Socialist Movement, or NSM, has become the leading group of its kind in the country following the deaths and incarcerations of other top white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
The planned Olympia rally follows two other events in Washington's capital city, also home to a vigorous anti-war movement and The Evergreen State College, a small campus know for its devotion to liberal causes.
Each of the previous gatherings was characterized by fewer than 10 neo-Nazis and more than 100 protesters, but no significant confrontations or arrests were reported.
The outcome has been more violent elsewhere.
In April, Michigan police said rocks were thrown at some police as about 75 neo-Nazis left a rally in Lansing. Windows of a police van were broken, and police reported 16 arrests, mostly for misdemeanors.
I
n February, fistfights broke out when neo-Nazi supporters and opponents clashed in Orlando, Fla. More than a dozen people were arrested.
A march in Toledo, Ohio, last October sparked rioting, with burned buildings and more than 100 arrests. The group demonstrated in Toledo again in December with far fewer problems.
Such events help the group grab headlines and further its recruiting efforts, said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., which monitors hate groups.
"The main characteristic of this group is that they are into staging belligerent public stunts," Potok said. "The classic NSM demonstration is 15 Nazis marching in a circle, surrounded by 60 police, and surrounded by 200 counter-protesters."
The group's calling card is demonstrating in mock-ups of German Nazi uniforms, complete with black boots, brown shirts and swastika armbands — both to revere the original Nazis and distinguish themselves in public, group members said.
"If you sp
ort the suit and tie, you kind of look like Republican-lite," Brandt said. "We want to make a clear distinction between us and other political parties in the U.S."
Callner, who dismissed the group as "glamor Nazis," said opponents have been torn between the urge to confront the group and the desire not to be provoked by its actions.
"We must tolerate these bozos' right to free speech," Callner said. "But the response to odious speech protected by the First Amendment is more and better speech."
:Swastika2:
