German Neo-Nazi march blocked by anti-racism protesters
German Neo-Nazi march blocked by anti-racism protesters: Thousands of anti-racism protesters and political parties pushed back a march by a small group of extreme right-wing German neo-Nazis in the western city of Mainz.
The anti-racism groups – made up of church groups, labour unions and antiglobalisation activists – were able to break up the planned gathering of the neo-Nazi group members.
The extreme right party – New Strong Party (NSP) saw about 50 of its members gather for a protest, around half of what was expected to show up for the march. They were met by roughly 3,000 anti-racism protesters.
The 50 NSP members didn’t go quietly – shouting slogans such as “nazi city Mainz” and Revolution now” before being prevented from moving forward, police said.
Police have confirmed clashes occurred between NSP members and officers, and the cops responded with pepper spray.
The neo-Nazi group then moved on to another part of the city, according to the EPD news agency.
Clamp down on Neo-Nazi groups as warnings of danger of extreme right
The Mainz Mayor Michael Ebling had, earlier on Saturday, led a gathering of some counterprotesters and used a speech to denounce the planned Nazi meeting. He warned that the public should not underestimate the dangers of the extreme right.
In Germany, authorities have been clamping down on Neo-Nazi groups. Back in April, police raided around 50 premises in a nationwide crackdown on banned neo-Nazi groups.
Four suspected right-wing extremists were arrested.
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