Armed neo-Nazis marched through the Short North neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon, shouting racial slurs, antisemitic rhetoric, and promoting white supremacist ideologies.

The march, which began around 1:15 p.m., involved about a dozen individuals dressed in black clothing, wearing red facemasks, and carrying black flags emblazoned with swastikas. Videos circulating on social media captured the group shouting hateful slogans, including white supremacist chants and slurs directed at people of color.

Police responded to a report of the group allegedly spraying mace or pepper spray at a passerby, as well as callers reporting the group was armed. Officers were dispatched to the area of North High Street and East Lincoln Street at approximately 1:20 p.m., according to Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert.

When police arrived, the group dispersed without further incident.

Community leaders and officials swiftly condemned the group’s actions. Lee C. Shapiro, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, decried the demonstration as a “vile display of hate.” “This is another sad example of the bigotry that we have witnessed across the country,” Shapiro said. “We cannot allow agitators to stoke fear in a city where diversity and tolerance is one of its hallmarks. Hate has no place in Columbus. Not now, not ever.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also issued a strong statement against the march. “There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence. Neo-Nazis — their faces hidden behind red masks — roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews,” DeWine said.

Note: The video below contains unsavory language. View at your own discretion. 

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)