Emboldened neo-Nazis have been condemned for a racist demonstration that took place in Ohio’s Short North Arts District this weekend. Videos of masked individuals carrying black flags with red swastikas on them appeared online on Saturday (Nov. 16), leaving onlookers in disbelief.
One clip showed the group chanting, “Bow down, n**ger” as they passed by a Black woman recording the unauthorized march. Other racial epithets and white supremacy rhetoric were blasted by a member who carried a bullhorn through the downtown area. According to one passerby who captured footage of the group, some of the men appeared to be armed.
On Sunday (Nov. 17), The Columbus Dispatch reported that police responded to a call that an onlooker had been pepper sprayed by a neo-Nazi but that no arrests were made. Gov. Mike DeWine was among the officials who expressed criticism for the demonstration.
“We will not tolerate hate in Ohio. 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. There were reports that they were also espousing white power sentiments,” DeWine said in a released statement. “There is no place in this State for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it.”
Similarly, Mayor Andrew Ginther and City Attorney Zach Klein took stances against the blatant display of racial hatred. “We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship or who they love,” said Ginther. Klein said that the Neo-Nazi’s “disgusting ideology” would not be normalized nor tolerated in Columbus. “Take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back. Your hate isn’t welcome in our city,” his statement read.
Elsewhere online, spectators have called for the elected officials to enact strict hate crime laws that would thwart and increase in neo-Nazi demonstrations, as well as other racially motivated instances that could result in civilians being injured. The state of Ohio has had an “Ethnic Intimidation” legislation in place since 1987. It prohibits the criminal endangerment of individuals and their belongings based on race, color, religion or national origin.