HATE PARADE
White supremacists march through Philadelphia and DC wearing white masks & holding banners that read ‘reclaim America’
WHITE supremacists marched through Philadelphia and Washington, DC, over the weekend wearing white masks and holding banners that read "reclaim America."
The group – known as Patriot Front – gathered in the two cities on Saturday night where some also carried riot shields.
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Around 200 members of Patriot Front gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall on Saturday night.
They chanted: "The election was stolen."
The group clashed with onlookers and was involved in several physical confrontations, local NBC affiliate reports.
Police said pedestrians “engaged members of the group verbally” and there were several physical encounters.
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Officer Michael Crum told : "They started engaging with citizens of Philadelphia, who were none too happy about what they were saying.
"These males felt threatened, and at one point somebody threw a smoke bomb to cover their retreat, and they literally ran away from the people of Philadelphia."
Police didn’t announce any arrests and said there were no reports of any damage or injuries during the march, which came on the eve of First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to the city for Independence Day festivities.
In DC, around 100 members marched on the National Mall, shouting: "Life, liberty, victory."
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They also wore the group's uniform of tan pants and black shirts with face coverings and carrying shields and American flags.
Police in the capital said: "First Amendment demonstration was peaceful with no incidents or arrests."
Patriot Front is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist group.
The Anti-Defamation League says the Texas-based group “espouses racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance under the guise of preserving the ‘ethnic and cultural origins’ of their European ancestors.”
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It also says the group “participates in localized ‘flash mobs’ and torch marches/demonstrations.”
Shira Goodman from the league’s Philadelphia chapter told that the group had recently been distributing leaflets, posting stickers, spraying graffiti, and conducting flash mob-like meetings later posted on social media.
A statue of George Floyd unveiled in New York was recently defaced with the group's logo.
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