White power rally protests become violent in Georgia

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — White power leaders boasted they were going to “Rock Stone Mountain” Saturday.

Instead, it was their opponents who nabbed the spotlight. While counterprotesters swarmed the popular Stone Mountain Park, clashing—sometimes violently — with police and prompting worried officials to close popular park attractions, about two dozen white power demonstrators were left waving flags behind barricades in a remote parking lot, ringed by police in riot gear. They packed up and left by early afternoon.

Nine counter pro testers were arrested after a day of cat-and-mouse chases with police. They took to wooded trails trying to confront the white power group, which called its rally “Rock Stone Mountain.” The situation was tense for several hours. A barricade was set ablaze, and rocks and fireworks were hurled at police officers working to keep the warring factions apart.

Meanwhile in Rome, 85 miles away in northwest Georgia, about 80 neo-Nazi supporters of the National Socialist Movement were also outnumbered by counter pro testers. The ne o-Nazis marched briefly in full black military garb, some waving flags with swastikas. Several participants were wearing Ku Klux Klan rob es. Two counter protesters there were arrested for disorderly conduct at the rally.

Saturday’s mix of rallies, protests, organizations and view points had law enforcement agencies worried. It was prompted by the timing of Confederate Memorial Day and Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Stone Mountain, the birth place of the Ku Klux Klan and home to a granite carving of Confederate generals, has become a magnet for such events. Officials have said they do not welcome such displays but cannot turn the groups away.

One group at Stone Mountain on Saturday blended supporters of Confederate heritage, members of local militia groups, the online activist group Anonymous and the integrated biker group Bastards MC, among others.

They argued they support Confederate heritage but oppose racism.

“Good job, guys. We won ,” Steve Panther of Confederates of Michigan, one of the organizers, said as they wrapped up. “We beat the hate.”

But his more sedate counter demonstration was overshadowed by the confrontational style adopted by other demonstrators — some wearing masks—who were seeking to confront the white power rally.

Counter pro testers from All Out ATL first faced off with police on a park road, chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Hey hey, ho ho, the KKK has got togo .” After being turned away by police, they wove through the park trails, making it to within sight of the Confederate flags at the park’s Yellow Daisy lot. When police prevented them from entering, the exchange-turned violent. Counter pro testers emptied trash cans and threw rocks toward the barricades. Fireworks exploded.

“Klan out now. Klan out now,” they chanted.

Police in riot gear encircled the white supremacists to keep the groups apart.