Three people were stabbed on Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members staging an anti-immigrant rally in Southern California clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said.
The violence erupted shortly after noon in Anaheim’s Pearson Park, California, about 4.8km from Disneyland. The KKK had advertised plans for the rally and about 30 anti-Klan protesters showed up beforehand, Anaheim Police sergeant Daron Wyatt said.
When six Klan members arrived, they were attacked as they exited their cars, he said.
Photo: AP / Eric Hood / OC Weekly
One Klansman stabbed a counter-protester with the decorative end of a flag pole, Wyatt said.
That stabbing set off a vicious brawl in which Klan members and protesters fought across an entire city block.
Witness video shows Klansmen dressed in black shirts decorated with the Klan cross and Confederate flag patches being surrounded by counter-protesters as they arrived at the park in a vehicle. A KKK member appeared to hold out a flag pole to fend off the crowd.
“I got stabbed,” a man is heard screaming, lifting his T-shirt to show a wound to his stomach.
A fire hydrant where the man briefly sat was covered in blood.
One police sergeant saw another Klan member with a knife in his hand and a counter-protester bleeding nearby, Wyatt said.
The sergeant took the KKK member into custody. Meanwhile, counter-protesters stomped on two KKK members, he said.
“All hell broke loose,” said Brian Levin, director of California State University, San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, who witnessed the violence. “I thought they were going to stomp these Klansmen to death.”
Wyatt said police were present when the violence erupted, but he did not say how many officers were deployed.
Police had notified the public about the planned KKK protest on Friday and said they would be “monitoring the situation for any violations of law.”
The department also said that while the group’s signs and fliers might be provocative, they are protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution.
Levin said he did not see any uniformed officers at the park when the violence erupted. He said he tried to get between counter-protesters and Klansmen to help quell the melee until officers were able to reach the scene.
“I’m still kind of a little bit shaken by it,” he said.
Anaheim Police Chief Raul Quezada defended the way his department handled the situation, saying a contingent of officers were dedicated to the gatherings and they were able to arrest all of the main participants in the clash.
“Preventing violent confrontations is always our goal; unfortunately the handful of individuals committed to criminal behavior this afternoon caused the violent episode,” he said in a statement.
Chris Barker, who identified himself as the “imperial wizard” of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said his members were holding a peaceful anti-immigration demonstration and acted in self-defense.
“If we’re attacked we will attack back,” said Barker, who did not attend the rally and spoke by telephone from North Carolina.
The organization lists Pelham, North Carolina, as its headquarters.
Last year, the group drew headlines when it protested the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol.
Twelve people were initially arrested, but five were released after investigators reviewed video of the confrontation, Wyatt said.
Those taken into custody were four Klansmen, who were booked for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, and three counter-protesters on suspicion of stomping on a Klan member. Police were looking for a counter-protester wanted on suspicion of assault.
The critically injured man was upgraded to a stable condition.
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