A photo of the group marching in D.C. in 2020. The white nationalist group Patriot Front is an offshoot of a supremacist organization that marched in Charlottesville during Unite the Right in 2017. A group of a few dozen men wearing small shields and carrying flags associated with the white supremacist group Patriot Front were seen marching on the National Mall towards the Capitol Friday morning. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Texas-based Patriot Front as an “image-obsessed organization” focused on a fascist agenda and “theatrical rhetoric.” The group has chapters across the U.S. and broke off from white-nationalist group Vanguard America following the deadly Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. ProPublica describes Patriot Front as “perhaps the most active white supremacist group in the nation.” Footage taken by ProPublica reporter Lydia DePillis shows the group marching in formation, wearing face coverings, and carrying upside down American flags (which is historically used to convey distress or great danger). The group was heard shouting “reclaim America” and unleashed red and blue smoke. The group held a banner saying “For the life of our nation” in all caps, as members recently did at a government building in Chicago. This is not the first time the group has made an appearance in the nation’s capital. More than a hundred Patriot Front members marched from Virginia to D.C. last February and were escorted by D.C. Police. On Friday, police were reportedly seen monitoring the group, as well. “MPD was made aware previously that demonstrations were to take place in the District today and provided the notification of potential traffic closures as a response,” said a D.C. police spokesperson in a statement. “At this time, there have been no arrests made in connection with the ongoing demonstrations. Also, the Metropolitan Police Department does not act in the capacity of private security for any group.”
via dcist: White Supremacist Group Patriot Front Seen Marching Through D.C. Friday Morning