Videos: White Supremacist Patriot Front Group Marches Through City

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 28, 2024 at 11:23 AM EDT | Updated Apr 28, 2024 at 8:49 PM EDT


Videos posted to social media on Saturday showed members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front marching through Charleston, West Virginia. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Patriot Front is a white supremacist group formed by disaffected members of another white supremacist group, Vanguard America, in September 2017, following the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Members "maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them alone. They define themselves as American fascists or American nationalists who are focused on preserving America's identity as a European-American nation."

Videos of the group marching towards the state Capitol in downtown Charleston on Saturday have been shared to X, formerly Twitter, where viewers can see the men wearing matching khaki pants, hats and dark colored polo shirts with masks over their faces. The group also can be seen marching as they carry a banner that read "America is not for sale" and chanted slogans.

"So these a******* from Patriot Front just marched through our beautiful town. While I support their 1st amendment right to PEACEFUL assembly...I also support our right to flip them off!" Mike Pushkin, the chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party and a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 37, wrote on X.

Although it is unclear what prompted the group to march, the YWCA Charleston held its 8th annual Race to End Racism, which aims to raise funds for community engagement and racial equity and inclusion programming. The race took place during the same time the group of men began to march.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacist-patriot-front-marches-through-city-videos-1894937