Rallying divisiveness

THOUSANDS of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans upstaged a small group in Boston that planned a “free speech rally” a week after a violent clash rocked Virginia and reverberated across America.

A group of counterprotesters marched through the city on the weekend to historic Boston Common, where conservatives had planned a series of speeches but soon left.

Police vans later escorted the con- servatives out of the area, as counterprotesters scuffled with police.

Organiser of the event, the Boston Free Speech Coalition, had publicly distanced itself from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on August 12.

A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally and many others were injured when a car ploughed into counterdemonstrators.

Opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway and turned out in force, some dressed entirely in black with bandannas over their faces.

Officials said the rally, the largest of about a half dozen around the country on Saturday, drew about 40,000 people.

Counterprotesters chanted slogans and waved signs that said “Make Nazis Afraid Again,” “Love your neighbour,” “Resist fascism” and “Hate never made US great.”

Chris Hood, a free-speech rally attendee, said people were unfairly making it seem like the rally was “a white supremacist Klan rally”.

“That was never the intention. We’ve only come here to promote free speech on college campuses, free speech on social media for conservative, right-wing speakers. And we have no intention of violence,” he said.