Hate Groups Hold March as Florida Braces for More

Demonstration near Orlando draws small crowd and is denounced by lawmaker
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2023 2:17 PM CDT
Hate Groups Hold March as Florida Braces for More
Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, shown speaking in the Florida House of Representatives last year, posted video of hate groups demonstrating Saturday.   (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Hate groups marched outside Orlando on Saturday, shouting, "We are everywhere!" in a video posted by a Florida state representative. Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani denounced the demonstration and called it "another example of the far right extremism growing" in the state. The Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism had warning Friday that, based on online chatter, it expected antisemitic, white supremacist groups to hold several demonstrations over the holiday weekend in Florida in high-visibility places, per WJXT. Among the cities making preparations was Jacksonville, where a white man killed three Black people at a Dollar General store last weekend.

Videos appeared to show a few dozen people at the march Saturday by members of Blood Tribe and the Goyim Defense League. They shouted pro-Hitler, white power, and antisemitic slogans while giving the Nazi salute, per Rolling Stone. Christopher Pohlhaus of Blood Tribe told reporters: "We just have to start a fire. We're the kindling." Guillermo Smith, a former state representative, tweeted that "Florida is our home and I refuse to hand it over to extremists," per the Daily Beast. "We have to stand united against antisemitism, anti-Blackness, and anti-LGBTQ bigotry," he wrote. (More hate groups stories.)

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