Neo-Nazis have terrorized Jewish Nashville residents over the last two weeks with a series of marches, physical assaults, and antisemitic pamphlets, according to Jewish groups, law enforcement, and local politicians, adding to the list of incidents over the year conducted by multiple extremist groups coming from outside the city.
On Wednesday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville warned on Facebook that security contacts had informed them that one neo-Nazi group would continue to operate in the Nashville area for several days. Nashville Metropolitan Police Department Chief John Drake said in a Wednesday statement that the group was likely operating out of a short-term rental in Scottsville, Kentucky. Nashville Jewish Federation CEO Rabbi Dan Horowitz said in a Nashville City Council meeting on Tuesday that several groups had been visiting Nashville over the past year and that two separate groups were responsible for actions over the last two weeks.
Drake said officers have been present at neo-Nazi demonstrations to deter confrontations. He advised residents not to interact with protesters, who were filming for propaganda.
“Even Nazi speech is protected under the United States Constitution,” said Drake, adding that the police would act swiftly when there were violations of the law.
“Nashville has a Nazi problem,” said former Nashville mayor and Democratic Tennessee congressional candidate Megan Barry, arguing that extremists crossed the line from speech to harassment and intimidation, which calls for legal consequences. She said the groups came to Nashville because they believed they had a receptive audience in the city. “We need to make it clear they are badly mistaken.”
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Horowitz suggested that extremists were flocking to the city because of a lack of law enforcement. He called on the authorities to enforce the laws that are on the books, such as ordinances against parades without permits, wearing masks for disguise on public property, and littering.
At the same meeting, in which Council members condemned the repeated antisemitic incidents in the city, neo-Nazis heckled speakers and disrupted proceedings. A photograph shared on X by Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver showed that one of the men wore a shirt that read, “Whites against replacement,” with the first letters of each word highlighted in red to spell “War.” District 19 Council Member Jacob Kupin shared on social media that some people had left the chamber in tears.
Kupin, who noted that his grandfather had been liberated from Nazi camps during World War II, said that while Neo-Nazis had the right to speak, residents had the right to condemn the activists. He echoed Council Member at Large Zulfat Suara, who said that Muslim, Jewish, Christian, LGBTQ, and immigrant citizens would stand united against the extremists.
“I want to say to these visitors from out of town: You are not welcome here,” said Suara. “Nashville government condemns all forms of hate, and when you come for one of us, you’re coming for all of us, and we continue to stand together for Nashvillians.”
Pervasive antisemitism
On Monday night, antisemitic flyers and graffiti were disseminated throughout the city, the Federation reported on Facebook on Tuesday. At the council meeting, Horowitz said that the antisemitic pamphlets were tossed onto driveways as they had been over the past year.
Around 15 extremists distributed antisemitic literature in downtown Nashville on Sunday, chanting antisemitic statements, according to the Federation. The neo-Nazis allegedly harassed pedestrians, flew Nazi flags over a major thoroughfare, and demonstrated in front of a local synagogue. The Federation said it was “disgusted that once again, our beloved city has been sullied by antisemitic instigators.”
A Canadian neo-Nazi protester was charged with aggravated assault for using a flagpole to strike a local bartender in the face and ribs.
Ontario resident Ryan Scott McCann, 29, the bartender, was also charged with disorderly conduct. McCann, who had been involved in a physical altercation with the neo-Nazi group when he was assaulted, was also arrested and faced misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct and resisting police.
The Federation said that a white nationalist group also marched through the city with American flags and extremist materials last Sunday. It condemned the “illegal” demonstration that allegedly broke “multiple local laws.”
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said on social media last Sunday that he would not allow such action to be normalized and assured residents that his administration was “exploring how we can thoroughly address unlawful activity of the group and prevent it in the future.”
ACCORDING TO the Federation’s statement last Sunday, antisemitic extremist marches had last been conducted in February. Horowitz added on Tuesday that Jewish institutions received multiple bomb threats over the year.
“We have been warning our local and state elected officials to act, and thus far, insufficient action has been taken to enforce our current laws,” the Federation said on social media on Wednesday. “We very much appreciate the efforts of law enforcement to disrupt these activities to the extent possible, and we now call on our elected officials to use the full force and effect of our local and state laws.”
O’Connell said on Tuesday that he would “continue working to defeat Nazis.”
“We are a city that must always orient toward love and a welcoming spirit because we understand the lessons of the past and despite our ghosts,” said O’Connell. “We enjoy freedoms that allow hatred to exist among us, but it cannot be allowed to come between us.”