Neo-Nazi thugs march though Pennsylvania, flying swastikas and chanting ‘f**k you f****ts’
The mob marched through Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Saturday
A mob of neo-Nazi thugs proudly waving swastikas and chanting homophobic epithets held a march in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Around a dozen members of the National Socialist Movement, which is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were photographed at the march, proudly waving swastikas and wearing Nazi armbands.
The neo-Nazis, many of them bearing weapons, marched largely unchallenged through the streets of Williamsport, local newspaper The Patriot-News reports.
Neo-Nazi mob chanted homophobic and racist slurs in Williamsport.
According to the outlet, police were in the area the entire time but did nothing to break up the event, which did not have a permit and defied COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.
NEO NAZI DEMO in PA #Hate #Nazi
Williamsport, PA Neo-Nazi hate group openly carries #swastika flag and marches to Brandon Park yesterday. The group is NSM or National Socialist Movement. They were armed and wore red armbands. https://t.co/qNA8ll0vhL pic.twitter.com/NTphtD536m
— Campbell Writer (@CampbellWriter) July 19, 2020
Assembling in the park, a megaphone-wielding member of the group referred to the city’s Black mayor Derek Slaughter using the N-word and referred to citizens as “n****r-lovers”.
He continued: “Here we are, ain’t a f**king thing you’re going to do about it… let’s not forget the LGBT+ community, come on everybody!”
Williamsport, PA July 18, 2020 pic.twitter.com/c3VlpCoLty— Becky Hayter (@hayter25) July 20, 2020
The neo-Nazi mob proceeded to chant “f**k you, f****ts” over and over. One woman adds: “God hates the gays! God hates you, gay people!”
https://twitter.com/BrettCrossley44/status/1284540267232661504
Police were aware of the march in advance, the outlet reports, with metal fences and concrete barriers erected around the two synagogues in the city as a precaution.
Williamsport chief of police, Damon Hagan told NorthCentralPA: “NSM came to Williamsport, they participated in protest activity in Brandon park area, and then they left. There are no known criminal and/or property damages associated with the protest.
“City, county, state, and federal officials worked together cooperatively to ensure the safety of the city of Williamsport.”
Locals reject homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic messages,
Many local businesses opted to shutter for the day.
Jason Fink, the president of the Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, added: “Vast public resources were put out at a time when funds are thin.
“Businesses such as restaurants are forced to question opening when they’re just barely getting by already with the restrictions placed upon them by the governor.”
Fink said that there was too much attention for “these people that are anti-black, Jew, and gay”, adding that they are not a reflection of the city.
He said: “There are so many positive stories that involve more than these roughly 15 people, that aren’t even from Williamsport, who have overshadowed them.
“Hopefully we can soon move past this time when the press feels they need to feature this type of hatred and focus more on the truly more important aspects to our lives here in Lycoming County.”
