Topline
Masked members of white nationalist organization Patriot Front marched upon Washington, D.C., on Saturday, carrying Confederate flags and upside down American flags amid Fourth of July celebrations in the Capitol.
Key Facts
The demonstrators’ identities were obscured by white masks, sunglasses and beige caps bearing the Patriot Front logo.
Photos of the demonstrators show Patriot Front leader and far-right activist Thomas Rousseau walking with the group.
The group consisted of roughly 700 people, according to The New York Times, which noted the march was brief and that the demonstrators left the city before 11 a.m. EDT, citing the Metropolitan Police Department.
Confederate flags and upside down American flags were flown, the latter of which is used to signal “dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property,” according to the U.S. Flag Code.
Crucial Quote
“The only way to secure our existence is to become all that we aspire to be,” Rousseau said Saturday, according to The Washington Post. “Our national independence was seized by a natural aristocracy of our people, the best of our Anglo-Saxon blood.”
Key Background
Patriot Front last demonstrated in D.C. in January during the National March for Life anti-abortion rally. The group demonstrated near the Washington Monument and was met by a few counter protestors, one of which played clown music throughout the majority of the demonstration. Patriot Front was founded in 2017 after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a white nationalist drove his car through a crowd, injuring dozens and killing one woman. The group advocates for a white ethnostate and considers immigration, multiculturalism and diversity threats to the U.S.
Further Reading
White Nationalists March in Washington Amid 250th Anniversary Celebrations (The New York Times)
Celebrations for America’s 250th beset by heat and political division (The Washington Post)