Inside The Counter-Protest That Drowned Out A Hate Group In Dayton, Ohio

By DeMicia Inman


Memorial Day weekend often calls for cookouts and relaxation. In Dayton, Ohio, although, several people opted to collect downtown categorize in attempt to protest a rally contained by the Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana, a Ku Klux Klan-affiliated hate categorize that has been listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as one of 24 mobile hate groups in the state of Indiana.


The event had been a long time coming; according to the Dayton Day-to-day News, the sort was approved for the rally allow in February soon after going back and forth with the city about the legality of the event. (Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert instructed them Daily News, “We are legally obligated to allocate access to public spaces where individuals can physical training their freedom of speech and right to assemble.”)


That wasn’t the end of the fight, however; based on the permit’s indication that the sort could be armed and operate in a military style, a March 13 lawsuit filed by the city claimed the group’s presence endangered the community. “We are delighted of what we symbolize, which is Christian white straight Americans,” the sort mentioned in statement released to Fox45Now.


The city ultimately aimed to disarm the sort fully and prevent any members from covering their faces. However, according to the Dayton Day-to-day News, the categorize threatened to rally with or without the allow, citing First and Second Amendment rights. On May 14, the two parties reached an agreement and settled the lawsuit. The resolution prevented the sort from wearing calculated gear and carrying assault rifles although did let for members to cover their faces and carry certain firearms, given that Ohio is an open-carry state.


“The agreement does not mean that we accept their hateful views or that their presence is supported by our leadership, our community or our residents,” Dayton's city attorney, Barbara Doseck, mentioned while in a press conference.


On May 25, the air in downtown Dayton smelled of equal parts cigarette and weed smoke, and also burning sage as protestors gathered as early as 11:30 a.M, a hour and also one half before the rally was approved by the city to take place. The small sort of Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana arrived promptly at 1 p.M.; The categorize traditional their presence with a KKK flag, a Confederate flag, and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Approximately nine members showed up; only one remained un-masked while the rest hidden their identities from the counter-protestors.


In contrast, their critics came prepared to prepare their voices and identities known. The diverse crowd ranged from Christians to Atheists, youth to elderly citizens, veterans to anti-war and anti-violence organizers, and every demographic in between. Between them, they waved American flags, gay pride flags, the transgender pride flag, Antifa banners, the Pan-African or Black Liberation flag, and other emblems while battling 80-degree temperatures.


“[We plan to] drive out the KKK and anyone who wants to show up and sign up,” Gerry Bello, a member of the Columbus chapter of the Anti-Racist Action Network, told MTV News. “We never had any doubt [the permit] could be approved. [We will] do whichever we can to interfere with their recruiting.”


The Anti-Racist Action Network, or the ARA, was founded in 1988 and uses education, company, confrontation, and celebration to eradicate racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most-oppressed people.


The Dayton Day-to-day News reports the City of Dayton in general spent approximately $650,000 to make sure the safety of both the rally-goers and counter-protestors. The event would eventually close without arrests, injuries, or incidents announced, in stark contrast to the 2017 counter-protest in Charlottesville, Virginia where a white supremacist drove a vehicle into a crowd, killing activist Heather Heyer. The city also prepared for the confrontation by blocking off streets leading to Courthouse Square, where the rally was set to be contained, and separating the counter-protestors from the hate sort fencing and also a barricade of armed members of the Dayton Police Department. In total, the DPD employed 350 police officers to patrol the streets; helicopter coverage and their visible presence on the rooftops of nearby buildings made some uneasy and others question who the police intended to protect and serve.


The rallyers talked as recommended, however hundreds of activists from all walks of life drowned them out noise, for the exact purpose to let both the sort and the nation know that Ohio residents never stand for bigotry.


“I think that the Klan rally’s primarily a recruitment tool, definitely in this area. I think that the counterprotest clearly shows the Klan that they are not welcome in our city” mentioned one protestor, who attended the rally with A Better Dayton Coalition, a collective of seven grassroots companies with similar activist goals.


Several of the counter-protesters had geared up for the worst, by sporting bandanas and sunglasses to block potential tear gas attacks and etching identifying intelligence and critical phone numbers on their arms with permanent markers in the case of violence and arrest. Grassroots businesses supplied free water, and shared vegetable and hummus trays, sunscreen, and even distributed emergency contraception to those in need.


“Our presence here today is to protect our people. We are not here to yell at the Klan or anything like that,” a woman who identified herself because the Minister of Defense of Republic of New Africa told MTV News. “We are here to prepare ensure that almost each of the people who came out here today to protest goes house safely.” Because the event ended, she encouraged counter-protestors to exit the area in the same way they came, and used a megaphone to amplify her message: “We came in peace, we leave in peace.”


For some groups in attendance, protesting the the Honorable Sacred Knights was nothing new.


“We’ve protested this categorize before in their residence base of Madison, Indiana, a number of many years in a row,” Jen Scott, a member of the American Atheists who traveled from Cincinnati to protest, told MTV News. “We wanted to know why they chose Dayton and how this time. Typically, only 10 or 12 of these show up, spit out their message of hate for about 10 to 20 minutes, and so they leave.”


Another protestor named Vanessa mentioned this event was her first time protesting anything, although she felt that it was required to define as a Christian standing up against hate. She had attended the rally with her church, and stood frontline at the fence with her partner, holding a wooden cross.


Ben, a protestor who attended with a corporation connected with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, told MTV News that any time if he first heard that a crowd affiliated with the Klan was on its way, he was mad and suggested to counter-protest immediately.


“We wanted to create ensure that Black people’s bodies and lives are respected in the city,” he added. “We wanted to show that we are against hatred, bigotry, violence, and terrorism and that Dayton is a city for all working class individuals, not just white working class individuals.”


And while labeled agencies arrived en masse, local Dayton residents made their presence known on a single level, also. A 39-year-old named Shante and her 11-year-old daughter Grace made sure to be mobile as Dayton natives, proudly raising a “No Hoods In My Woods” sign between them. Shante told MTV News she was not surprised by the KKK rally, yet pointed out that the same First Amendment rights that allowed them to collect gave her the same rights to counter their arrival under the same statute.


“They have a pride and I have a pride,” she added.


Grace, who chose to attend and protest on her own, added that she joined her mother because she understands her own voice matters.


“I came here to show that they won’t make me feel any different about my color at all,” she told MTV News.


Those protesting the KKK presence in Dayton not only expressed messages denouncing the hate group; they also included anti-Trump, anti-police and anti-capitalist messaging with chants, posters, and body art. The categorize repeatedly cheered “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA.” The police were met with chants asking “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” And “The cops and the Klan go hand-in-hand” as counter-protesters showed disdain for the DPD’s protection of the Honorable Sacred Knights. Several protestors had written the phrase “Fuck 12,” a slang term for police, across their bodies in red ink. Attendees also contained posters in memory of these killed by police brutality, referencing the Black Lives Matter movement.


As for the city of Dayton itself, the local government launched an initiative called Dayton United Against Hate, as a direct response to the hate group’s choice of location. “Hate isn't a Dayton value. This event is a possibility for us to talk about what our values are as a community, and also you all have named them loud and clear,” Mayor Nan Whaley said in an accompanying PSA.


“We have to prepare ensure that fascism doesn't take hold of this nation by showing it is outnumbered,” one protestor who led several chants however asked not to be identified by name, told MTV News. “It is critical for us to be out here in numbers and making our voices heard.”