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 counterprotesters 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. Park officials canceled the popular laser show and shut down the cable car and amusement area as the situation escalated in the early afternoon.
Meanwhile in Rome, 85 miles away in northwest Georgia, about 80 neo-Nazi supporters of the National Socialist Movement were also outnumbered by counterprotesters. The neo-Nazis marched briefly in full black military garb, some waving flags with swastikas. Several participants were wearing Ku Klux Klan robes. Two counterprotesters there were arrested for disorderly conduct at the rally.
Saturday’s mix of rallies, protests, organizations and viewpoints had law enforcement agencies worried. It was prompted by the timing of Confederate Memorial Day and Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Stone Mountain, the birthplace 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 counterdemonstration was overshadowed by the confrontational style adopted by other demonstrators – some wearing masks – who were seeking to confront the white power rally.
Counterprotesters 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 to go.” 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. Counterprotesters 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.
“Do not move! Do not break my line,” shouted one police leader.
The counterprotesters later claimed victory, arguing they effectively shut down the “Rock Stone Mountain” rally.
“We made a statement that we are not going to get intimidated by and watch this terrorist group harass and incite fear and violence,” Dawn O’Neal said. “We stood up to them today.”
“Rock Stone Mountain” organizers attracted few of the up to 2,000 participants they had predicted.
Organizers John Michael Estes and Greg Calhoun blamed threats from counterprotesters for keeping supporters away. They also argued that police were denying their members admission, a charge authorities denied.
“That’s America these days,” Calhoun said.
One white supremacist participant insisted that the rally had been a success.
“They didn’t win. They didn’t shut us down. We had a successful, peaceful rally,” said Joseph Andrews.
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©2016 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)
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