Highlights
- On Saturday, dozens of activists of the far-right Patriots Front marched through Boston.
- The group is recognized for organizing marches around key US holidays, like the 4th of July.
- According to the reports of ADL, Patriot Front is a white supremacist organization dedicated to maintaining the United States’ European-American identity.
Many far-right Patriot Front activists selected the 4th of July day to march throughout downtown Boston on Saturday.
In social media footage, the masked protesters march to the rhythm of a drum, holding a flag with the group’s logo and shields and dressed in their distinctive khaki slacks, navy polo shirts, and baseball hats.
Most demonstrators wore sunglasses and white fabric wraps over their noses and lips.
As per the Boston Herald, the event drew roughly 100 people.
Who are these protesters, according to ADL?
The Anti-Defamation League identifies Patriot Front as a white supremacist organization dedicated to maintaining America’s European-American identity.
“The Patriot Front walking beside the Freedom Trail over the 4th of July holiday is an insult to anyone who died for freedom, equality, and justice,” ADL New Director Robert Trestan tweeted.
Patriot Front is known for organizing marches around major American festivals, such as the Fourth of July.
According to The Boston Herald, the marchers arrived at 12:30 pm and began unloading shields and flags from a truck.
Along with their brand flags, many held Betsy Ross flags, which had only 13 stars in a circle to honour the original 13 colonies of the United States.
Some hoisted American flags upside down, implying the country was in crisis.
In one of the social media videos, a Patriot Front speaker can be seen using a megaphone to address the audience.
Police have confirmed the injury of a guy
The Boston Herald photographed suspicious gang members fighting with a guy at one point. According to the reports, police-reported one adult guy being hurt during an altercation.
In a tweet, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the group: “To the white supremacists that rushed through downtown today: we don’t cover our faces when we march. Your hatred is cowardly and nasty, contradicting everything Boston stands for.”
After the infamous “Unite the Right” demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, which ended in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer, Patriot Front split from the white nationalist organization Vanguard America.
The organization often marches through cities around the country and frequently appears at anti-abortion rallies.
Last month, 31 radical Patriot Front organization members were apprehended outside an Idaho Pride event after being observed piling into a U-Haul like “a small army.”