LOS ANGELES (JTA) – Two neo-Nazis were beaten and others were pelted with eggs, rocks and bottles during a rally in front of Los Angeles City Hall.
The attacks came as African-American, Latino, Jewish and immigrant-rights groups joined in countering a rally Saturday by some 40 members of the National Socialist Movement.
The Detroit-based neo-Nazi group had received a permit for the demonstration and was protected by police, which called a tactical alert as the confrontation heated up.
Wearing swastikas and shouting “Sieg Heil,” the demonstrators aimed their slogans and placards mainly against illegal immigrants, though the rally was interspersed with racist and anti-Semitic outbursts.
One of the beaten demonstrators carried a sign reading “Christianity=Paganism=Heathen$” with an arrow pointing to a swastika. He and the other beaten man were treated and released.
An estimated 500 counterdemonstrators arrived from throughout the region and pursued the neo-Nazis as they retreated toward the parking lot where they had parked their cars.
One neo-Nazi demonstrator was unable to start his car and could not fend off flying bottles and rocks. He and his cohorts held swastika-emblazoned placards over their heads for protection, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Police arrested, and later released, five of the counterdemonstrators.
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