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Philadelphia police say masked white supremacists who marched outside Philadelphia City Hall and shouted phrases such as “The election was stolen!” and “Reclaim America!” over the Fourth of July weekend ran away when residents confronted them, using smoke bombs to obscure their retreat, authorities said Monday.
In footage of the group recorded on Saturday night, about 200 members of the group Patriot Front were captured descending on the city’s downtown chanting “reclaim America” and saying the presidential election had been stolen, Philadelphia police spokeswoman Tanya Little said.
A number of members, most of whom wore white masks, could be seen with U.S. flags and shields in hand as they marched.
Tanya Little, a spokeswoman for local police, told NBC News that the band of marchers belonged to the group Patriot Front, a group classified by The Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group that was formed after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017. The group is also known for its ties to the white supremacist group Vanguard America.
Nothing like taking your kids to Philadelphia for the 4th & running into literal Nazis. These scumbags belong to the group Patriot Front. That may or may not be my kids & I joining a growing crowd yelling at the spineless dickholes & chasing them away from City Hall. #fucknazis pic.twitter.com/bqYviUq1Bd
— Not Today (@SunnyDelight888) July 4, 2021
The Anti-Defamation League said members of the group “maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it solely to them.”
Videos of the demonstration showed that shortly after the group of marchers hit the streets downtown on late Saturday that they were met with opposition from locals.
“They started engaging with citizens of Philadelphia, who were none too happy about what they were saying,” Philadelphia police officer Michael Crum told a local NBC affiliate.
“These males felt threatened, and, at one point, somebody in their crowd threw a type of smoke bomb to cover their retreat, and they literally ran away from the people of Philadelphia,” Crum said.
Onlookers could be seen in footage that surfaced online pushing the marchers. Other footage showed one of the marchers having what appeared to be one of their shields thrown back at them.
Shout out to the Philly brothas who helped clean the streets of white supremacist filth#PullUpSummer pic.twitter.com/dZxxKl1UA2
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) July 4, 2021
Little told NBC News that members of the group eventually appeared to deploy smoke bombs in a bid “to cover their retreat as they fled.”
More footage of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, trying to use their Toys-R-Us shields to protect themselves from getting beat up in #Philly #PullUpSummer pic.twitter.com/wPWsV8OFPJ
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) July 4, 2021
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