Nashville's Council condemns neo-Nazi group as jeers disrupt proceedings

Nashville's Metro Council roundly condemned several recent displays of antisemitic hatred in Nashville on Tuesday evening, and a leader of the Jewish community asked for rigorous enforcement of existing ordinances barring masking for disguise on public property and mass marching without giving advance notice, after neo-Nazi rabble rousers disrupted Council proceedings with jeers and hateful comments.

Ahead of the Metro Nashville Council meeting on Tuesday, about a dozen members of the neo-Nazi group Whites Against Replacement signed up to speak during the body’s public comment period. One wore a red shirt with a swastika emblem; another covered his face with a black T-shirt and sunglasses inside the Council chamber.

An elevated presence of Metro Nashville Police and Tennessee State Troopers was noticeable inside and outside the courthouse.

“I want to say to all these visitors from out of town: You’re not welcome here,” At-Large Council Member Zulfat Suara said, kicking off the announcements phase of the meeting. “You have the right to march, but there is no room for hate here."

As Suara spoke, the Nazi group jeered and heckled from the back of the room, yelling racist expletives, pornographic allegations and mocking comments.

"This council and Nashville government condemns all forms of hate," Suara said. "When you come for one of us, you come for all of us, and we will continue to stand together as Nashvillians."

Council Member Jacob Kupin, who serves on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, strongly defied the Nazis sitting less than 50 feet behind him.

“My grandfather liberated concentration camps from the Nazis ― we're here and will continue to be here," Kupin said. "As we said in February, when hate rears its head, we will fight back stronger and harder and united together."

After further racially and sexually offensive outbursts from the gallery, Suara ordered the gallery cleared to allow the body to continue business. Metro Police escorted all spectators ― including peaceful guests and public commenters ― out of the gallery until the meeting began at 6:30 p.m.

The group’s appearance comes days after they were seen parading down the streets of downtown Nashville, and less than two weeks after a large demonstration by the far-right group Patriot Front through downtown to War Memorial Plaza. Several times in recent weeks, antisemitic leaflets were dropped in the Sylvan Park neighborhood.

Outside, the group met a handful of counterdemonstrators dressed in black, some with faces masked in disguise, identified by Metro Police as affiliated with Antifa. There was a brief confrontation of expletives, as the Nazi group raised their hands in a salute and yelled “Sieg Heil” several times on the front steps of the historic Metro Courthouse.

After taking photos and videos of themselves provoking outrage on their phones, the Nazi group walked off toward their cars, followed by Metro Nashville Police. They did not return to the meeting for public comment.

Rabbi asks council to enforce ordinances

During the meeting’s public comment period, Rabbi Daniel S. Horwitz, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, asked the city to enforce existing ordinances that would prevent such displays from happening.

"With the laws on the books not being enforced, you can come march with your mask on during the day, go honky-tonk with your buds at night, without any concerns that you'll lose your job on Monday," Horwitz said.

He noted the groups have violated city ordinances banning masking for disguise on public property and marching with 20 or more people on public property without providing advance notice.

"If you truly want Nashville to be a place where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive, the status quo can't stand," he said. "We shouldn't have to do it alone."

Council delays resolution to condemn political violence

Ahead of the meeting Council Member Courtney Johnston filed a resolution “condemning the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump,” honoring the victims of the attack on Saturday and the swift response of the U.S. Secret Service, and condemning all political violence.

Vice Mayor Angie Henderson opened the meeting condemning the neo-Nazi display and asking members to support Johnston's resolution.

“Political violence and intimidation threatens our democracy and our constitutional freedoms of assembly and speech. No one in the United States of America should ever fear attending a political event, a festival or worship service, or a public meeting,” Henderson said.

When the resolution was brought up, Council Members Ginny Welsch and Terry Vo objected to taking up the resolution immediately. The resolution will be delayed until the next Council meeting.

"Tonight, two members of Nashville's Metro Council blocked my resolution honoring the victims of Saturday's assassination attempt. This was a vile action by extremists on the council that regrettably has become all too common," Johnston told The Tennessean in a statement. "Every Tennessean, and certainly every Nashvillian, should be ashamed that these two council members could not denounce the murder of an innocent man, and the attempted assassination of former President Trump. In the United States, we settle our political differences with ballots, not bullets."

Legislation would bar 'likes,' 'retweets' of racism by police

Council Member Jeff Preptit introduced a resolution that would disallow Metro Nashville Police Officers from any kind of association with hate groups and paramilitary gangs, including prohibiting display of any tattoos or "posts, 'likes,' jokes, memes, retweets, and other statements that advocate racism, violence, misogyny, homophobia, or other kinds of hate or discrimination." Preptit said Tuesday that groups intentionally recruit from law enforcement.

"The reality is that throughout the South, we still live with the residual effects of a legacy of our institutions being targeted by criminal hate groups and unlawful militias that perpetuate political violence against constitutionally protected citizens," Preptit said.

Preptit deferred his resolution for three meetings to continue to address First Amendment concerns.

Mayor condemns Nazi displays

Mayor Freddie O’Connell condemned the rise of racist groups in Nashville with a quote from Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

“I was convinced that hatred among nations and among people perished in Auschwitz. It didn’t. The victims died but the haters are still here. New ones.”

“I got to hear Elie speak during his life. And I will continue working to defeat Nazis. For him and all of us,” O’Connell shared in a social media post Tuesday. “We are a city that must always orient toward love and a welcoming spirit because we understand the lessons of the past and despite our ghosts. We enjoy freedoms that allow hatred to exist among us, but it cannot be allowed to come between us.”

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Council condemns neo-Nazi group as jeers disrupt proceedings