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| Multiple people stabbed at Sacramento white nationalist rally | Multiple people stabbed at Sacramento white nationalist rally |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Multiple people were stabbed and beaten in a brutal clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters just outside the California capitol building in Sacramento on Sunday, city fire officials said. | Multiple people were stabbed and beaten in a brutal clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters just outside the California capitol building in Sacramento on Sunday, city fire officials said. |
| Five people were taken to hospitals with injuries, some with “critical trauma stab wounds”, the fire department said after what it called a “mass casualty incident”. | Five people were taken to hospitals with injuries, some with “critical trauma stab wounds”, the fire department said after what it called a “mass casualty incident”. |
| Sacramento police did not immediately respond to requests for details. Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey said the main fight broke out when people carrying sticks rushed into the rally area, a park by the capitol building. California highway patrol officers eventually broke up the fight, he said. | |
| Photos and video posted online showed chaotic fights between people clad almost entirely in black and other protesters, some of whom carried signs labelled “anti-fascist”, “Nazi scum” and “smash patriarchy + racism”. | Photos and video posted online showed chaotic fights between people clad almost entirely in black and other protesters, some of whom carried signs labelled “anti-fascist”, “Nazi scum” and “smash patriarchy + racism”. |
| Despite the presence of police in body armor and mounted on horses, violence broke out, leaving blood spattered on sidewalks and people visibly wounded. | Despite the presence of police in body armor and mounted on horses, violence broke out, leaving blood spattered on sidewalks and people visibly wounded. |
| People used pepper spray and flagpoles to attack each other, and video from protesters and ABC10 showed others swinging blunt objects wildly, beating people to the ground and dragging and kicking bodies. | |
| Police intervened, sometimes riding horses to break up crowds, but they were unable to separate all combatants before serious injuries were inflicted. | Police intervened, sometimes riding horses to break up crowds, but they were unable to separate all combatants before serious injuries were inflicted. |
| At an impromptu briefing, an officer told reporters that the force was working to disperse the protests while respecting peaceful demonstrators’ right to free speech. | At an impromptu briefing, an officer told reporters that the force was working to disperse the protests while respecting peaceful demonstrators’ right to free speech. |
| “Our primary focus was to de-escalate the situation,” the officer said. “We are going to continue working with the California highway patrol to ensure that the event is held in a relatively calm fashion.” | “Our primary focus was to de-escalate the situation,” the officer said. “We are going to continue working with the California highway patrol to ensure that the event is held in a relatively calm fashion.” |
| Insane video. Crowd sees any signs of "Nazis" and they run&attack. A lot of people bleeding/getting maced. @ABC10 pic.twitter.com/PoFhILfZ95 | Insane video. Crowd sees any signs of "Nazis" and they run&attack. A lot of people bleeding/getting maced. @ABC10 pic.twitter.com/PoFhILfZ95 |
| A group calling itself the Traditionalist Workers party had planned a rally near the capitol for several weeks, and some arrived in shirts with Nazi imagery. The group had a permit to demonstrate, declaring itself “a political party whos [sic] agenda is traditional American values”, and told Sacramento officials it expected 50 people. | |
| Counter-protesters also spent weeks planning what they called a “shut down Nazi rally”. Dozens turned out to protest, photos and video showed. | |
| The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based watchdog that monitors hate groups, calls the Traditionalist Workers party a white nationalist group. | The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based watchdog that monitors hate groups, calls the Traditionalist Workers party a white nationalist group. |
| The march was organized by the Golden State Skinheads, the California wing of the group. Their leader is Matthew Heimbach, a 25-year-old former radical rightwing student organizer whom the SPLC describes as “the face of a new generation of white nationalists”. | The march was organized by the Golden State Skinheads, the California wing of the group. Their leader is Matthew Heimbach, a 25-year-old former radical rightwing student organizer whom the SPLC describes as “the face of a new generation of white nationalists”. |
| In a brief phone conversation with the Guardian, Heimbach said only one of the injured people belonged to his organization. | |
| In a post to the organization’s website, Heimbach wrote that he was aware of plans to counter-protest but said: “After carefully weighing the pros and cons, we have decided that this would be our Thermopylae, no matter what it costs.“We will defend ourselves by any means necessary, and if the police in Sacramento do not protect our right to speak, we will do it ourselves.” | In a post to the organization’s website, Heimbach wrote that he was aware of plans to counter-protest but said: “After carefully weighing the pros and cons, we have decided that this would be our Thermopylae, no matter what it costs.“We will defend ourselves by any means necessary, and if the police in Sacramento do not protect our right to speak, we will do it ourselves.” |
| Heimbach was accused of assaulting a black woman at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this year. He was named in a lawsuit filed by protesters against the candidate for president, and acknowledged in an online post, as described in the lawsuit, that he had shoved her. The incident was caught on video. | Heimbach was accused of assaulting a black woman at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this year. He was named in a lawsuit filed by protesters against the candidate for president, and acknowledged in an online post, as described in the lawsuit, that he had shoved her. The incident was caught on video. |
| The counter-protesters organized in part via Facebook, writing: “Anti-Fascist Action Sacramento does not believe in allowing hate to have a platform and we are calling upon the community to shut down their rally. Fighting fascism is a moral duty, not a political one. | The counter-protesters organized in part via Facebook, writing: “Anti-Fascist Action Sacramento does not believe in allowing hate to have a platform and we are calling upon the community to shut down their rally. Fighting fascism is a moral duty, not a political one. |
| “We believe most people are good and are willing to stand up against racial hatred,” they added. “Our objective is to force the nazis off our streets and to send a strong message that they are not welcome in society and especially Sacramento.” | “We believe most people are good and are willing to stand up against racial hatred,” they added. “Our objective is to force the nazis off our streets and to send a strong message that they are not welcome in society and especially Sacramento.” |