COLUMBUS, Ohio — The White House is joining Columbus and state leaders in condemning a group of neo-Nazis who paraded around the Short North Arts District over the weekend.
Police safety dispatchers received multiple 911 calls Saturday afternoon about a group of people marching in the Short North.
Video sent to 10TV showed around 10 people wearing black shirts, black pants, black head coverings and a red mask covering their mouths marching down North High Street. Three of the individuals were carrying flags with swastikas.
No arrests were made, and officers did not use any force. Many of the individuals were detained but later released.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other prominent leaders issued statements after the incident, condemning the march and the people who participated and standing against hate.
On Monday, the White House issued a statement saying the “hateful poison of Nazism” is "hostile to everything the United States stands for, including protecting the dignity of all our citizens and the freedom to worship.”
In Philadelphia, Jewish people and allies joined together to protest a house that had been flying the Nazi flag. The flag has since been replaced with an American flag, and the homeowner declined to state why the Nazi flag was flown.
Full statement from the White House
“President Biden abhors the hateful poison of Nazism, Antisemitism, and racism – which are hostile to everything the United States stands for, including protecting the dignity of all our citizens and the freedom to worship. Hate directed against any of us is a threat to every single one of us. This sickening display comes during a tragic rise in Antisemitic rhetoric and violence that is a crises the American people should all come together against. That is why President Biden launched and continues to act on the first ever national strategy to fight Antisemitism in American history.”