White racists outnumbered at own Ga. rally

Hundreds of counter-protesters faced off against some two dozen neo-Nazis who rallied at a park in suburban Atlanta on Saturday.

The National Social Movement rally in Newnan began just after 4 p.m. and lasted only an hour.

Far fewer people than had been expected showed up. Its application for the rally had anticipated 50 to 100 participants, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV.

The ones who came wore black and carried flags and shields, and found the park was covered by messages of peace and love written in chalk.

NSM Commander Jeff Schoep told the station, “People are tired of Democrats and Republicans with the same old lies and failures . . . They listen to our social and political issues.”

He promised more rallies in other towns to spread the message that white power should prevail and the country must be taken back from illegal immigrants.

As the demonstration began wrapping up shortly after 5 p.m., counterprotesters shouted, “Shut it down!” and “Time’s up, go home!”

Concerned cops — with memories of a similar rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 — assigned 700 officers from 42 police agencies to monitor the event.

The two groups were kept apart by barricades and a line of cops wearing riot gear.

Newnan Police Chief Douglas Meadows said, “the groups we had here today did not represent Newnan and Coweta County. Words cannot express my gratitude, first to the citizens of Newnan and Coweta County.’’

No one was hurt and USA Today reported about 10 people were arrested as the rally began, some of them for wearing masks.

Last year’s fascist rally in Charlottesville left one protester dead after she was stuck by a car driven by a white supremacist.