Neo-Nazi demonstration in Columbus is condemned by Ohio governor and city officials

Ohio officials have denounced a small contingent of neo-Nazis who paraded through a Columbus neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, waving flags featuring swastikas in the latest public demonstration by White nationalists in recent years across the United States.

Ohio officials have denounced a small contingent of neo-Nazis who paraded through a Columbus neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, waving flags featuring swastikas in the latest public demonstration by White nationalists in recent years across the United States. Around a dozen people in black pants, shirts and head coverings – their faces obscured by red masks – marched along the street near downtown Columbus as three carried black flags emblazoned with red swastikas, footage provided to CNN affiliate WBNS shows. Columbus public safety dispatchers got 911 calls around 1:30 p.m. reporting a group marching in the Short North area, the dispatchers told the station. Columbus’ mayor condemned the “cowardly display” and asserted the city’s commitment to standing against “hatred and bigotry.” “We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship and whom they love,” Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, wrote on social media. Ohio’s governor also condemned the demonstration, describing those involved as “spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews.” “There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, antisemitism or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said.