COLUMBUS, Ohio — About a dozen people were walking through the Short North on Saturday wearing masks and holding flags with a symbol that the Nazis used during World War II, social media posts show.
City leaders responded, saying hate won't be tolerated in Columbus.
“When I first heard about it and got contacted, I was not only disgusted, but I was madder than hell, because that is not what we are as a community,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Klein is one of the many city leaders who has condemned the neo-Nazis marching in the short north over the weekend. But Klein believes that condemning this hate needs to go beyond city officials putting out statements.
“We also need faith leaders in their places of worship to talk about it and call it out. We need teachers that do it in their classrooms. We need parents to do it at home with their kids. This is an all-hands-on-deck approach because we are seeing this rise in this Nazi ideology,” said Klein.
Police haven’t made any arrests yet, and on Monday, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant released as statement that said:
“The Constitution protects First Amendment activity, no matter how hateful.” But she went on to say, “No one in our community should experience intimidation or harassment. We will continue to strive to make Columbus a city where all residents feel welcome and safe.”
She said their investigation is still open.
“When it's hateful actions that affect others, when they cross the line into the criminal law, that's what prosecutors about myself need to step up and we will step up to hold these individuals accountable,” said Klein.
Mayor Andrew Ginther also released a statement, saying in part, "The Columbus community stands squarely 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 or whom they love."
The neo-Nazis marching downtown sparked about 100 community members to gather Sunday evening and send a message by standing in the Short North in solidarity.
“We want to send a strong message back to whomever that believes that they can terrorize us in threatening messages or intimidate us. That is not happening,” said community leader Emmanuel Anthony.
Columbus is not the only city in Ohio that has experienced this type of behavior recently. A few months ago, neo-Nazis marched in Springfield amid the false claims toward the Haitian community.