Gut-Wrenching Video Shows Clash Between Neo-Nazis and Protesters in Sacramento
Authorities say at least 10 people were wounded, two critically, following a series of stabbings at a neo-Nazi rally at the California state capitol in Sacramento on Sunday, CNN reported.
According to ABC 10's Frances Wang, large crowds of counter-protesters largely dressed in black had shown up to confront a planned demonstration by a group called the Traditionalist Worker Party. Soon thereafter, the situation devolved into violence.
One video captured a shocking melee involving dozens of people fighting with flags and other improvised weaponry.
In another from a different Twitter user, law enforcement seemed to have its hands full keeping the two groups apart.
On its website, the TWP describes itself as seeking "a peaceful and prosperous future free from economic exploitation, federal tyranny, and anti-Christian degeneracy." It also rails against a perceived multicultural assault on the "European-American identity" from the government and society.
A member of the TWP who was not present at the rally in an online live stream "They got one of us but we got six of them," according to the L.A. Times.
The first emergency calls came in at 11:45 a.m. local time and crowds had dispersed within an hour, the Times reported.
White supremacist leader Matthew Heimbach, who the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch blog describes as the founder of the TWP, posted a photo to Twitter of his "brave comrades" marching in Sacramento before the incident. Members of the group could be seen wearing face-concealing headgear and carrying shields emblazoned with white nationalist symbols and the state of California.
"Most pro-white endeavors [in politics] run themselves out by running for too much at too high of a level," Heimbach told Hatewatch. "Our mission is to create a European-styled nationalist movement that really follows their [Europe's] example, where the party is really a subculture."
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Correction: June 27, 2016: A prior version of this article used a photo from a different rally and featuring an individual not involved in the incident on Sunday in Sacramento. It has been changed.
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