Neo-Nazi group rallies in Riverside as hundreds of counter-demonstrators protest
Police stood between the two sides for most of the three-hour demonstration as the opposing groups hurled insults and slurs - and the occasional bottle of water - at each other.
By Jose Arballo Jr., SWRNN
Saturday, October 24, 2009
A group of neo-Nazis and hundreds of counter-demonstrators squared off for the second time in Riverside’s Casa Blanca neighborhood Saturday, briefly scuffling before being separated by police.
Police stood between the two sides for most of the three-hour demonstration as the opposing groups hurled insults and slurs - and the occasional bottle of water - at each other.
Two people were arrested, including one man whom police believe helped incite a brawl that broke out soon after the rally started. The other man was taken into custody after someone tossed something in the direction of officers lined up between the two groups. Neither man was identified by authorities.
“Our goal is to allow the two sides to express themselves in a safe manner,” said Sgt. Jaybee Brennon, spokeswoman for the Riverside Police Department. ”We just want everyone to be safe.”
The rally was the second gathering by the National Socialist Movement, which called the gathering as a way to protest the impact of illegal immigration and the lack of government intervention on the issue. The last rally in September ended quickly when a small group of neo-Nazis were confronted by hundreds of counter-protesters and were chased off. The Nazi group said after they were asked to leave by police, while authorities said the group left on its own.
The group on its Web site vowed that it would not be chased off Saturday and was being reinforcements to help keep the peace.
More:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-10-24/news/neo-nazi-group-rallies-in-riverside-as-hundreds-of-counter-demonstrators-protest#ixzz0UycneHUZ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Neo-Nazi demonstration in Riverside spurs confrontations
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, October 24, 2009
By LORA HINES
The Press-Enterprise
A brief fistfight and a lime-throwing incident led to arrests of at least two counterprotesters Saturday during a three-hour neo-Nazi rally near a well-known Riverside day labor gathering site.
The fight erupted minutes after 20 neo-Nazis arrived and took positions behind metal barricades erected by the Riverside Police Department near Madison Street and Railroad Avenue. Police barricaded an estimated 600 counterprotesters about 150 feet away on the other side of the street.
But more than two dozen counterprotesters, including members of the Brown Berets, a Chicano activist group, rushed toward the neo-Nazis and the two groups yelled at each other.
One unidentified Brown Beret member, who was later arrested, pushed over a barricade and a brawl between both sides barely started before dozens of officers wearing riot gear and using batons quickly stopped it.
Another counterprotester, who identified himself as Geronimo Rivera, 32, was led away by police and arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Rivera, held on $25,000 bail, was arrested in connection with limes being thrown at the neo-Nazis shortly before the rally ended.
The counterprotesters cheered as the neo-Nazis ended the rally, giving the signature Nazi salute as motorcycle officers escorted them to their SUVs and minivans.
More:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_webnazi25.2d9a4ba.html