Los Angeles

White Supremacist Rally in Front of LA City Hall Turns Violent

Jennifer Halligan

A white supremacist rally at the Los Angeles City Hall turned violent this past Saturday, April 17th. Counter-protestors threw eggs, rocks and bottles at police and white supremacist, by the end of the rally two people had been beaten. The rally was held by the National Socialist Movement, which had received a permit for the demonstration just days earlier. The white supremacists seemed to be making a statement against immigration into the United States. Many counter-protestors became aware of the rally online.One man who was beaten had Nazi images tattooed on his chest and back. The other had a sign that said, “Christianity=Paganism=Heathen$”, and it’s not clear if he was a part of the neo-Nazi group. Both men were treated and released. The rally ended at about 2:30 in the afternoon. At least five counter-protestors were arrested.

• From one perspective this incident represents the 1s tAmendment wich protects freedom of speech for everyone, including Nazis and white supremacists, and the counter-protestors were wrong to get violent.
• Another perspective is that the counter-protestors were provoked into attacking members of a hate-based group by their violent rhetoric.

Additional Reading:

-http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-white-supremacist18-2010apr18,0,4043821.story