A group of neo-Nazis clad in red shirts and black balaclavas (ski-type masks covering their faces), and carrying swastika flags, marched through Tennessee on Sunday but were confronted by a man in a now-viral encounter, according to multiple media reports.
The man said to the neo-Nazis, who NBC claimed were thought to be members of the white supremacist group "Blood Tribe": “Show yourself – what are you ashamed of?"
The Anti-Defamation League reported that Blood Tribe members believe in white supremacy and worship Adolf Hitler as a deity. The movement does not allow female members and rejects "white supremacists who call for softer 'optics.'”
The Blood Tribe sees itself as “the only path to a white ethnostate", according to the ADL.
In some clips shared online, the neo-Nazis can be heard chanting “deportation” with the response “save the nation.”
NEW: Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi group, marches through downtown Nashville, Tennessee with swastika flags.The group was founded in 2020 by Christopher Pohlhaus, a former Marine.While speaking to a reporter over the summer in Florida, Pohlhaus said he supports Biden over Trump… pic.twitter.com/T8lrCGBMTi
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 17, 2024
The man approached the neo-Nazis during the march and said “Best you got? Show me your f***ing faces. Where’s your face?”
In response, one of the neo-Nazis yelled at the man “Get out… your people poop in the street.”
The latter refers to an Indian stereotype circulated by white supremacists as a way to comment on the hygiene of what they perceive to be lesser races.
“You don’t know my people,” the man repeated in response to the Nazis’ comments. The man proceeded to follow the march, shouting “f***ing cowards.”
Condemning the white supremacist march
“Our office is closely monitoring the Nazi rally downtown," State Representative Aftyn Behn said.
“These groups, once relegated to the dark corners, now feel empowered to spew their noxious ideology out in the open due to our state’s leadership REFUSING to condemn their speech and actions,” Behn said on X.
our office is closely monitoring the Nazi rally downtown— these groups once relegated to the dark corners now feel empowered to spew their noxious ideology out in the open due to our state’s leadership REFUSING to condemn their speech and actions. pic.twitter.com/WZ1whZ2tPZ
— Rep. Aftyn Behn (@AftynBehn) February 17, 2024
Nashville Vice Mayor Angie Henderson lamented on X that "I even have to say this. NAZIS are NOT WELCOME in NASHVILLE. In America everyone is free to demonstrate & to say what they want, so: SHAME ON YOU ALL! Get your hateful, dangerous, fascist, nazi [sic] nonsense off our streets & off our beautiful Public Square.”
Yad VaShem also responded to the Nashville incident.
"Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is deeply troubled by the images and hateful antisemitic rhetoric witnessed at yesterday's neo-Nazi rally in Nashville, Tennessee. The message must be unequivocally; there is no place in our society for intolerance, racism or antisemitism," they said in a statement.
"The imagery from the march through Nashville's streets evokes painful memories for Jews worldwide. The anti-Jewish ideology espoused by the Nazis served as a chilling prelude to the systematic extermination of six million Jews. We urge American leadership to establish national standards for Holocaust education across the United States, ensuring that the messages and lessons of the Holocaust are engrained on the national agenda. Yad Vashem remains steadfast in its commitment to raising public awareness through extensive educational and commemorative initiatives."