President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t even taken office, but are we seeing the effects of the racist rhetoric that dominated the election? Last week, a white supremacist felt bold enough to say the N-word at a Senate committee meeting in Michigan. Now, Nazis are marching in Ohio.
On Saturday (Nov. 16), a group of neo-Nazis took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio waving flags covered in red swastikas and screaming the N-word. Nearly a dozen people participated in the stunt, sporting black pants, shirts and coverings that hid their faces.
Now, the White House has spoken out to condemn their actions. According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were 7,567 white supremacist incidents in 2023—which was a record high.
ABC News has reported that White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement that President Joe Biden “abhors the hateful poison of Nazism, Antisemitism, and racism.”
“Hate directed against any of us is a threat to every single one of us,” Bates continued. Columbus public safety dispatchers received calls around 1:30 p.m of the men marching. The footage has now gone viral on social media.
Before the White House spoke out, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called the march a “cowardly display” and said that the city will always stand against “hatred and bigotry.”
“We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship and whom they love,” the Democratic politician wrote on X.
According to CNN, Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also addressed the disturbing trend of “spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews.” “There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, antisemitism or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it,” DeWine stated.
No arrests were made during the event. However, WBNS reported that officers did briefly detained some of the participants. On Sunday (Nov. 17), Columbus community leaders held a unity march to show solidarity and that hate will not be tolerated.
In recent years, these gatherings of white nationalists holding Nazi flags have happened in places like New Hampshire, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia and Washington, D.C.