(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)
Columbus community leaders are condemning reports of armed neo-Nazis marching Saturday afternoon through the Short North, using racial slurs toward people of color and shouting about Jewish people and white power.
Several videos began popping up around 1:15 p.m. Saturday on social media of about a dozen people, one with a bullhorn, wearing all black with red facemasks and carrying black flags with red swastikas on them in the Short North.
Police responded at 1:12 p.m. to a report from a caller who said that one of the people in the group sprayed pepper spray or mace at a passerby. Callers also reported the group was using racial slurs toward people of color on the street, shouting about Jewish people and white power and appeared to be armed, police dispatchers said.
At 2:18 p.m., a Reddit user posted photos of what appeared to be Columbus police handcuffing a bearded person dressed in black behind a U-Haul van at the onramp to State Route 315 and West Goodale Street. Police dispatchers could not immediately confirm whether officers had arrested anyone.
As of about 2:45 p.m., police dispatchers told The Dispatch that officers were still at the scene and monitoring the situation. As of about 3:15 p.m., the group was reported to have been in Franklinton.
“The vile display of hate by a small band of masked neo-Nazis in the Short North is another sad example of the bigotry that we have witnessed across the country,” American Jewish Committee regional director Lee C. Shapiro said in a statement. “AJC is grateful to the Columbus police for acting to quell this unauthorized march and for city officials’ forceful response to this act of cowardice. We cannot allow agitators to stoke fear in a city where diversity and tolerance is one of its hallmarks. Hate has no place in Columbus. Not now, not ever.”
In a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, City Attorney Zach Klein said: “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. Your hate isn’t welcome in our city.”
City Council President Shannon Hardin also said in a post on X that he had been in touch with police about the incident.
“I’m sorry the President-elect has emboldened these creeps,” Hardin wrote. “This community rejects their pathetic efforts to promote fear and hate. Columbus will always stand with those they seek to intimidate.”
Mayor Andrew Ginther also said in a statement posted on X that the community will continue to stand against hatred and bigotry and embrace tolerance and acceptance through diversity.
“Together, we reject the cowardly display reported in the Short North earlier today, 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.”
In a lengthy statement on his website, Columbus-based civil rights advocate and attorney Sean Walton Jr., who is running for NAACP Columbus president in the chapter’s Wednesday election, called Saturday’s events “both alarming and unacceptable” and “a direct assault on the values we hold dear as a community.”
“Let me be clear: hate has no home here. The actions of these protestors undermine the very fabric of what makes us strong — our diversity, unity, and shared commitment to justice and happiness for all,” Walton said. “While their goal may be to divide us, we must resist the temptation to respond with the same hate and aggression they spew. Instead, we must rise above and respond with the enduring power of love, resistance and collective commitment to community.”
Walton also called on elected officials and police to thoroughly investigate those involved and to “take swift, collaborative steps to ensure that such actions are … prevented in the future.”
As of 4 p.m. police dispatchers could not confirm whether officers had arrested anyone, and a Columbus police spokesperson had not responded to a Dispatch reporter’s call seeking more information.
nshuda@dispatch.com
CBehrens@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Neo-Nazis carrying Swastika flags march through Columbus Saturday
