LIVE UPDATES: Neo-Nazi rally met by counterprotesters, police in Newnan

[riversedge]

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff




Updated April 21, 2018

HAPPENING NOW: Watch what’s happening with live video coverage from our reporting partner, Channel 2 Action News. Click or tap here for the breaking news.
Dee Wyman of Marietta participates in a counterprotest in Newnan on Saturday. (LEON STAFFORD /AJC)

3:55 P.M.: Dee Wyman traveled from Marietta to stand against what she sees as hatred that she says is on the rise. She is a believer in the First Amendment and supports the right to protest, but thinks it’s sad that speech is used to support hate.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/live-updates-neo-nazi-rally-planned-saturday-afternoon-newnan/5ly6sbN65e2LxuiHVLr5SI/

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A neo-Nazi rally scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Newnan, Ga., was met by a large contigent of counterprotesters and law enforcement officers. (HYOSUB SHIN / AJC)

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[nmgaucho]

1. I'm all for free speech

Allow them to march and display their ignorance for all to see.

[riversedge]

2. A small city in Georgia is fighting back against neo-Nazis in a novel way

A small city in Georgia is fighting back against neo-Nazis in a novel way


https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/us/newnan-neo-nazis-rally-trnd/index.html
Kendall Trammell

By Kendall Trammell, CNN

Updated 2:14 PM ET, Sat April 21, 2018


The National Socialist Movement take part in a Ku Klux Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina.


(CNN)Newnan, a small city southwest of Atlanta, is rarely in the news, and the 33,000 folks who call it home prefer it that way.
But this Saturday, it'll be hard for the city to avoid the spotlight when the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the US, marches through downtown.


Cops, wary of the kind of violence that broke out after Charlottesville, asked businesses to put away anything that could be thrown, such as chairs and tables. Many shop owners decided to just shutter their stores.


"Saturday is our busiest day of the week, but we want people to know that Newnan doesn't stand for this," said Rachel Kuehl, the owner of Newnan Mercantile, a quaint farmhouse decor shop. "We're not a city that promotes hate."

It's a big financial hit for these local businesses, so residents did something about it.

They urged each other to go shop on Friday to make up for the drop in revenue.

Kuehl, along with other store owners, stayed open later than usual to welcome any extra business could get before this weekend's rally. Through social media posts, local groups promoted events -- from musical performances to signups for upcoming 5K races -- to get people downtown to support the local shops and restaurants.



One non-profit, Backstreet Community Arts, asked kids to come to the city park and cover it with chalk drawings of hearts, rainbows and flowers.


"It will be hard for the hate group to take serious video footage when a rainbow-colored unicorn is in the shot," the group said.
Some even gave away #NewnanStrong t-shirts to show the city's unity as groups of neo-Nazis drive through town.

[NBachers]

4. I love this post. Thank you for putting this story where we can see it.

[riversedge]

5. yes. good for this small town.

[Ilsa]

6. Red state Georgia sez No! to nazis!

Glad there are people protesting the neo-nazis.

[kimbutgar]

7. Lonely sexually repressed men who have no meaningful relationships on their lives

If they have love in their lives they wouldn’t be there pushing hate. Too much dsb ( deadly sperm buildup)

[vercetti2021]

8. You described every 4channer

Lmao

[7962]

9. Once again, hardly ANYONE shows up to march. Outliers wasting tax money.

These loser groups have very little support and just want to get media attention. I dont live too fr from newnan and I didnt hear a thing about this until now.