‘More than a dismayed social media post’: Counter-march pushes back at neo-Nazis

This story was updated to add new information.
After armed neo-Nazis marched through Columbus’ Short North on Saturday, extremism experts and local community leaders fear such displays may become more common, buoyed by the reelection of Donald Trump and hateful political rhetoric.
Those same experts believe that a counter-demonstration held a day later along the same route in Short North is illustrative of one of many ways communities can band together to reject neo-Nazi and white nationalist rhetoric where they live.   
Saturday’s event — captured by stunned onlookers on social media — saw neo-Nazis parade along North High Street through the Short North in black clothing with red face masks and carrying red flags emblazoned with black swastikas. One of them carried a bullhorn, and witnesses said they yelled racial slurs.
Columbus police responded to a report that someone had been pepper sprayed by one of the neo-Nazis, but said Monday there wasn’t probable cause to charge any of them. The investigation is ongoing, the police division said in a statement, declining to further elaborate on the incident that resulted in condemnation from community leaders, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and President Joe Biden. 
No group has claimed responsibility for the march. 
In a counter-march organized by Brian Winston, president of 100 Black Men of Central Ohio, a group of Black community leaders and citizens walked the same route Sunday that the neo-Nazis had taken the day before. 
Sean Walton, a prominent Black Columbus attorney who represents families of Black people killed in police shootings, called the march empowering. He said people cheered them on throughout the route.
“I think it was inspiring to see that through the fear and the hate,” Walton said.
“There’s really no place for that type of behavior, for the language that they used,” Walton said of the neo-Nazis that marched Saturday. “And to see them come out on a Saturday when families should be enjoying our Columbus community, you know, they should be enjoying the Short North … It was just disgusting.”
Maria Bruno, executive director of the nonprofit Ohioans Against Extremism, said the counter-march was a powerful example of standing up against white supremacy.
“I thought it was such a powerful reaction to actually have a proactive march in response,” Bruno said. “And I think that you’re going to see more of that … I think we now understand more clearly that this is more of a pattern of behavior and that it requires an organized, actual response, more than a dismayed social media post.”
Winston said he was inspired to do more than send a letter or issue a statement after seeing the neo-Nazi display in the Short North. He began reaching out to other Black men to organize a march quickly.
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said Saturday’s neo-Nazi march reflects that the reelection of Donald Trump and a broader growth of hateful rhetoric in politics has emboldened extremist groups.
“This absolutely speaks to the emboldening of the sense of entitlement and the sense of freedom that I think a lot of white supremacists and neo-Nazis feel at this current moment,” Lewis said. “They think that they can, you know, intimidate, harass, and engage in this hateful conduct without any real repercussions.”
Lewis said it’s common for people who participate in such demonstrations to come from out of town, and those who participated in the march Saturday may not be local.
“These groups are ephemeral by nature,” Lewis said. “A lot of times, it’s five to10 guys in a Telegram group or a Signal chat … It wouldn’t really make a difference if we said that they were Blood Tribe or the Goyim Defense League. … Functionally, it’s the same group.”
Lewis said these people are happy to provoke small conflicts with the public, but do not necessarily present violent terrorist threats or seek to get into large-scale street fights.
“I think when you look at many of the individuals in these spaces, they’re not hardened, domestic terrorists, right?” Lewis said. “They’re wannabes. I mean, these are guys who are renting a U-Haul to march in Columbus with Nazi flags to get attention. “There were people clapping, blowing their horns, yelling, ‘We’re behind you.’ There’s no room for hate in Columbus,’” Winston said. “When you hear those things, you know then that you’re making a little impact.”
JewishColumbus and the Jewish Community Relations Council issued a joint statement Monday afternoon condemning the neo-Nazi march, calling it a “reprehensible display of hate” and an assault on the community’s values on diversity and inclusion. They also called on the Columbus community to reject hate and discrimination and to promote communities where “all people can live without fear.”
“We are not afraid of cowards who are scared to show their faces. Our response to their hate and the rise of antisemitism is to strengthen our resolve, deepen our community bonds, and continue our education and advocacy work.”
Dispatch reporter Shahid Meighan contributed to this report.
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