Photo courtesy: Oren Segal on X
A white nationalist group known as the Patriot Front was seen marching near the Capitol on Saturday.
A video posted on the anonymous social media app Fizz shows a procession of several members of the group donning face coverings and sunglasses in an effort to hide their identities. Members hoisted flags adorned with symbols of the group along with Confederate flags, which, to many, have become symbols of hatred and oppression.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Patriot Front is a white nationalist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The “Unite the Right” rally has become an infamous symbol of the modern white supremacy movement. The violence at the rally reached a fever pitch when a car rammed through a group of counter-protesters, ultimately killing Heather Danielle Heyer.
The Patriot Front has been no stranger to controversy, with the group embracing policies that many consider discriminatory or exclusionary. In July, CNN reported a march that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee, where a group in similar hooded attire chanted, “Sieg Heil” and “Deportation saves the nation.”
The group has come further into the public consciousness with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) stating that “Since 2019, Patriot Front has been responsible for the vast majority of white supremacist propaganda distributed in the United States…”
After the group’s rally at the Old Capital, local officials and political party organizations took to social media to express their disdain for the event.
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow wrote in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday that the group’s views don’t belong in the city.
“To the white supremacists hiding their faces downtown today: Hate has no place in Tallahassee. While right-wing extremists attempt to use the public square to elevate their bigotry, the rest of us that believe in freedom and dignity for all people must condemn it every time.”
The Leon County Democratic Party also made a statement on their Facebook page Saturday.
“Right-wing neo-nazi group Patriot Front demonstrated in front of the Florida Capitol Today. Racist hate has no place in Tallahassee.”
Despite widespread condemnation of the march, many students felt their safety was jeopardized. One user going by the moniker “From a woman” on the social media platform Fizz stated, “This is actually so scary,” in response to a post showing images from the march where the confederate flag is clearly visible.
A student who chose to remain anonymous due to safety concerns stated, “The openness of discrimination at our state’s capitol makes the environment that we call home unsafe, unregulated, and exclusionary.”