Youths shut down Klan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
By Jane Cutter
Ann Arbor, Mich.
At least 400 anti-Klan protesters forced the Ku
Klux Klan to end its May 9 rally an hour early.
The protesters, primarily young people, marched from the
University of Michigan Union to the Guy Larcom Municipal
Building.
Police had erected fences around the city hall grounds. But
the cops maintained a somewhat lower profile than they had at a
similar Klan rally two years ago.
In 1996, the city administration allowed the KKK to speak
from the roof of city hall.
This time, the vile racists were contained under the eave
area in front of the building, which was covered with mesh
screening. This effectively caged the Klan and made them
invisible from the street. It was not possible to hear
them.
Demonstrators made several attempts to take down the fence
to get at the Klan. Police drove them back by spraying
mace.
Later, protesters surged to the rear of the building, ripped
down a small piece of fencing, and took over the second-floor
promenade of city hall, throwing rocks.
Riot-equipped police retreated into the building to regroup.
They returned, firing tear gas canisters at the anti-racist
demonstrators.
Anti-Klan protesters managed to avoid being pinned down
behind city hall and marched out, back to the Michigan Union
for a victory rally.
Cops made no arrests at the site. But police officials said
they will try to identify protesters from news videotape and
make arrests later.
In addition to the 400 militants who came out to city hall,
200-500 people attended a "CommUnity and Justice" rally at
Wheeler Park, about six blocks from city hall. This event was
sponsored by a variety of religious and community
organizations, and was promoted by city officials in an attempt
to split anti-racist forces.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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