dilloduck
Diamond Member
TOLEDO, Ohio (CNN) -- A neo-Nazi group's scheduled march against "black crime" in Toledo, Ohio, sparked rioting Saturday afternoon.
Police and SWAT teams moved in, and about two dozen rioters were arrested, Toledo Police Chief Michael Navarre said. He said he expected 30 to 40 arrests by the end of the day.
Toledo Mayor Jack Ford declared a state of emergency and asked for 50 highway patrol officers to reinforce Toledo police. A curfew came into effect at 8 p.m. for people "roaming around the streets," he said.(Watch neo-Nazi protests turn violent)
He also blamed gang members for the violence, saying it turned into "exactly what they wanted," referring to the Nazi group. Ford said he had appealed to the community Friday night to ignore the Nazi march.
It's not clear why the National Socialist Movement chose north Toledo for its march, said Ford, himself African-American. "It is not a neighborhood where you have a lot of friction in the first place," he said.
The NSM promotes itself as America's Nazi Party and said that it was protesting black gangs, which it claimed were harassing white residents. The group said it had received support from Toledo's white citizens and community activists.
A spokesman for the group, Bill White, blamed the riot on Toledo police, saying the police intentionally changed the group's march route to make it collide with a counter-demonstration.
About 20 members from both the International Socialists Organization and One People's Project showed up, and some handed eggs to African-American residents to throw at the Nazi marchers, White said
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/15/nazi.march/index.html
Police and SWAT teams moved in, and about two dozen rioters were arrested, Toledo Police Chief Michael Navarre said. He said he expected 30 to 40 arrests by the end of the day.
Toledo Mayor Jack Ford declared a state of emergency and asked for 50 highway patrol officers to reinforce Toledo police. A curfew came into effect at 8 p.m. for people "roaming around the streets," he said.(Watch neo-Nazi protests turn violent)
He also blamed gang members for the violence, saying it turned into "exactly what they wanted," referring to the Nazi group. Ford said he had appealed to the community Friday night to ignore the Nazi march.
It's not clear why the National Socialist Movement chose north Toledo for its march, said Ford, himself African-American. "It is not a neighborhood where you have a lot of friction in the first place," he said.
The NSM promotes itself as America's Nazi Party and said that it was protesting black gangs, which it claimed were harassing white residents. The group said it had received support from Toledo's white citizens and community activists.
A spokesman for the group, Bill White, blamed the riot on Toledo police, saying the police intentionally changed the group's march route to make it collide with a counter-demonstration.
About 20 members from both the International Socialists Organization and One People's Project showed up, and some handed eggs to African-American residents to throw at the Nazi marchers, White said
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/15/nazi.march/index.html