A group of neo-Nazis carrying flags bearing swastikas were seen marching through the streets of Ohio on Saturday.
The shocking display – done in Columbus in broad daylight – has left Americans outraged after footage of it quickly circulated online.
Social media posts started swirling around 1pm, showing a dozen of the culprits all wearing masks. In them, the suspects are heard airing chants disparaging people of color and those who are Jewish.
Cops were then dispatched for an investigation. No arrests have been made thus far.
Investigators are looking into the claims from an unnamed 911 caller, who said one of the group sprayed a passerby with pepper spray.
Local politicians revealed their outrage following the neo-Nazi event – including the state’s governor and the city’s mayor.
City Attorney Zach Klein issued a statement as well, condemning those involved. It happened in the city’s Short North Arts District – a trendy area known for its artwork.
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‘To those involved in the neo-Nazi march in the Short North today, take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back,’ the prosecutor said in a post to X.
‘Your hate isn’t welcome in our city.’
Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, released a scathing response as well, in which he promised people of all creeds how cops would ensure their safety after pro-white chants had rattled them to their core.
‘The Columbus community stands squarely against hatred and bigotry,’ his statement continued.
‘We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship or whom they love.
‘Together, we reject the cowardly display reported in the Short North… and we will continue to monitor the situation in partnership with the Columbus Division of Police to ensure the safety and security of our city.’
Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also took notice, issuing perhaps the most stern undressing of them all.
In it, he told onlookers how he ‘will not tolerate hate in Ohio’, after a similar procession was seen earlier in the week in Michigan.
‘Neo-Nazis – their faces hidden behind red masks – roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews,’ DeWine wrote.
‘There were reports that they were also espousing white power sentiments.’
He added: ‘There is no place in this State for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence.
‘We must denounce it wherever we see it.’
The American public reacted to the footage as well, with many categorizing it as perturbing.
‘Nazis marched through Columbus, carrying flags with swastikas, yelling racial slurs and profanities,’ one X user wrote.
‘[N]azis proudly walking down the streets of [C]olumbus in 2024, this country will never learn,’ another who saw the procession in person and re-shared footage added.
Police dispatchers, meanwhile, told cops how a litany of callers reported the group hurling racial slurs at residents in addition to the inflammatory chants – specifically toward people of color.
They also spoke negatively about Jewish people and positively of white power and appeared to be armed, the dispatchers said – according to Sgt. Joe Alber with the Columbus Police Department.
In an email Sunday, he said officers were dispatched at 1:20pm to North High Street and East Lincoln Street following an initial report of ‘a group of individuals dressed in all black and armed with firearms holding Nazi Swastika signs.’
He added how once officers arrived, the group ‘left the area without incident.’
‘Officers stopped a van the group left in a short distance away to investigate the potential assault that may have taken place,’ he went on to add.
‘Many of the individuals inside the van were detained. However, it was later determined that an assault did not take place and all of the individuals were released.’
Alber did not name any of those involved in the traffic stop due to a lack of a charge, and cops could not confirm any other arrests related to the case.
The name of group responsible for the display remains unknown, the public information officer added – as footage showed them donning attire and signage emblazoned with a red skull.
During the Nazi era, Hitler’s SS touted a similar skull image as their symbol.
Similar scenes were seen at not one but two Michigan towns the weekend before, when another group waving flags with swastikas sought to upend a play about Anne Frank.
American Legion Post 141 in Howell, a town west of Detroit, was hosting the production based on ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ on November 9, when the number of masked men showed up – all allegedly shouting antisemitic and racist slurs.
American Legion, a veteran’s organization, agreed to host the play in response to rising antisemitism in the United States, making it all the more shocking that the very thing they were fighting against came right to their doorstep.
Bobby Brite, a past commander of the post and a 26-year US Army veteran, was there and confronted the neo-Nazis. He posted a live video of them to the legion’s Facebook page.
The Fowlerville Community Theatre, which put on the play, said in a statement that men were in the parking lot of the American Legion building before they were ‘moved’ to the other side of the street.
The play continued, and was performed again the next day without incident.
In that particular case, it remains unclear if police were the ones to remove them from the property.
The investigation into the claims surrounding the more recent incident in Ohio, meanwhile, remains ongoing.