On Saturday, November 16, dozens of concerned residents of Columbus, Ohio reported seeing a group of men dressed in all black and carrying flags emblazoned with swastikas marching through their community. The neo-Nazis marched down High Street and through some of the surrounding neighborhoods, including the Short North arts district. 

Without police intervention, the fascists freely hurled racial slurs, spouted antisemitic rhetoric and intimidated people. Several African American patrons at a local bar reported that the fascists sprayed them with mace.

(Warning clip has explicit language)

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The group was clad in all black and wore ski masks adorned with the fascist “death’s head” symbol to cover most of their heads and faces. The “death’s head” or totenkopf is a symbol originally used by the German SS and has been used widely by the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen.

After several hours of intimidating residents, as the Nazis returned to their rented U-Haul van, the group was finally approached by the Columbus Police Department (CPD). The cops briefly detained, questioned, and then released the fascists without making any arrests. As of this writing, no charges have been brought against any of the members of the group.

Both Columbus natives and people living outside of Ohio took to X, formerly Twitter, to register their disgust. Some locals reported that the fascists were free to harass members of the community for two and a half hours before there was any police intervention.

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There was speculation as to what organization this group of fascists could be, their manner of dress and the vile, racist rhetoric they spewed bringing to mind neo-Nazi groups like Blood Tribe and the Goyim Defence League (GDL). Further investigation revealed that this particular group of neo-Nazis go by the title “Hate Club 1488.”

The leader of Hate Club 1488 is Anthony Altick, a fascist from Missouri who served two years in prison for the murder of a black man and the shooting of two others. The group itself is based out of St. Louis, Missouri and made up of members from around the state.

Public outrage over the presence of Nazis belatedly forced members of the state government of Ohio to issue pro forma responses. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein issued a statement saying, “To those involved in the neo-Nazi march in the Short North today, take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back. Your hate isn’t welcome in our city.”

Republican Governor Mike DeWine wrote in a statement, “There is no place in this State for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence.”

In fact, “hate” and “bigotry” are being cultivated in Ohio by the Republican Party, starting with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The cultivation of fascist ideology is being promoted by the incoming Trump administration and the entire Republican Party, which is being transformed into a fascist party. Altick has previously posted photos of himself at Trump rallies.

The group previously marched through Springfield, Ohio, immediately after Trump and Vance told racist lies about Haitian immigrants eating family pets.

Trump has declared that as soon as he takes office he will mobilize the forces of the state to deport millions of immigrants. In this effort, Trump and the Republicans are counting on the support of fascist groups such as the Blood Tribe and the Proud Boys to be his shock troops. 

While these groups have support from the GOP, which has fully transformed into a party of fascism, the Democrats share equal blame for the normalization of fascism, from supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine to pledging a “smooth transition” to the aspiring dictator Trump.

On Monday, the Biden White House issued a pro forma response that read in part, “This sickening display comes during a tragic rise in Antisemitic rhetoric and violence that is a crises [sic] the American people should all come together against.”

After more than a year of funding and enabling Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and criminalizing protests against it, including by labeling opponents of the unending slaughter as “antisemitic,” the Biden administration has laid the groundwork for the suppression of those who oppose Trump’s policies and his fascist followers.

The Trump administration, with the support of the Democratic Party, is preparing a government of social counterrevolution in order to prosecute their global war agenda. The working class must organize independently of both capitalist parties if workers and youth are to defeat the fascist threat and work towards a socialist future.