A San Francisco man was one of the people arrested during a violent Ku Klux Klan rally in Anaheim Saturday, and according to all media reports, the local fellow is a Klansman, not one of the counter-protesters at the anti-immigration event.
Bay City News reports that 51-year-old San Francisco man Charles Donner was arrested at Saturday's SoCal demonstration, which was "a planned anti-immigration rally" according to the Associated Press.
The AP reports that when six Klansmen (including Donner) arrived at the pre-advertised site of the rally, a park about three miles from Disneyland, they were greeted by as many as 30 counter-protesters.
The Klansmen reportedly "pulled up in a black SUV and took out signs reading 'White Lives Matter,'" while "dressed in black shirts decorated with the Klan cross and Confederate flag patches." According to the AP, the anti-Klan crowds swarmed the SUV, and the driver pulled away, leaving three KKK guys behind.
Then all hell broke loose, as protesters smashed the SUV's windshield, and began to beat and kick the Klansmen. According to Brian Levin, who directs the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, the anti-Klan ralliers were "were so angry, they would have torn these folks limb from limb...I was afraid for their lives."
Levin, who found himself protecting the Klansmen from the counter-protesters, took video of the event. It's pretty graphic, so think before playing.
Center Director Shields LWK from Attack in Anaheim RallyPosted by Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism on Sunday, February 28, 2016
As the brawl progressed, a Klansman used the sharp end of a pole attached to an American flag to beat protesters back, stabbing three in the process.
Donner and four more of his co-Klansmen were arrested at the rally for assault with a deadly weapon. All were released, the AP reports, when police determined that their actions had been in self-defense. Seven counter-protesters who "were seen beating, stomping and attacking the Klansmen with wooden posts" remain in custody.