• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

‘I FEEL LIKE WE WERE STOOD UP’

Written by ZACK HUFFMAN Posted August 20, 2017 Filed Under: News, NEWS+OPINIONS

 

Boston nazi hunt a major disappointment for many

 

Tens of thousands of anti-racist protesters flooded Boston Common on Saturday, many with hopes of punching nazis, but there weren’t nearly enough faces to go around.

 

In the wake of last weekend’s showdown in Charlottesville, Virginia between white supremacists and anti-racist demonstrators, international eyes were on the Common, where a so-called “Free Speech” rally was expected to be met by scores of counter-protesters. The fighting in Charlottesville ultimately led to the tragic death of counter-demonstrator Heather Heyer, and there was an expectation that Boston could also see violence.

 

Photo by Kori Feener

 

Some nazi haters showed up for a rift, as did the Boston Police Department. Still, few so-called alt-righters, let alone straight-up nazis, came out in the sunlight. Aside from a few trolls peppered throughout the vicinity, roughly two dozen showed up to the park’s bandstand. They were surrounded by a police-enforced buffer zone that kept anyone from joining the group, let alone hearing anything that was said.

 

“I feel like we were stood up,” said James Hilliard, a 22-year-old student from Allston. Hilliard was waiting for something to happen in the shade next to the Earl of Sandwich about 100 feet away from the cloistered bandstand.

 

 

The crowd was thick with various small groups of activists in full-body black bloc garb, complete with bandanas and masks in some cases. These are the protesters who are often shown on television news starting street fights, but in Boston there was barely anyone to brawl with.

 

“I came here to tell fascists and racists that they aren’t welcome,” said one of the few masked demonstrators who was actually willing to speak to reporters.

 

The “Free Speech” crowd seemed to get the message, as their rally was cordoned off by fences forming inner and outer boundaries. The only way in and out was through a phalanx of police in riot gear.

 

Meanwhile, counter-protesters continued to flow into the Common, with little else to do but wonder where the white supremacists were hanging out.

 

At one point in the early afternoon, a near skirmish took place by the Frog Pond, when a masked medic attempted to grab an American flag out of the hands of two elderly misplaced Trump supporters. (Ed. note: Activists contend that it was not a medic but rather a random provocateur who grabbed the flag, and say that police used the incident as an excuse to search the bags of several counter-protesters and to trash their water station).

 

Photo by Kori Feener

 

One of the supporters, a senior lady, ran after the masked kid and tripped over her own flag. A younger Trump supporter came to her rescue and berated the medic who walked away before the situation escalated.

 

Meanwhile, another counter-demonstration march started earlier on in Roxbury, more than two miles away from the Common. By the time that crowd made it downtown, most of the “Free Speech” folks had been escorted out of the park like rock stars ducking paparazzi.

 

Without a larger riot on their hands, the significantly staffed force was available to help the speakers escape, leading through the Boston Common parking garage and to the edge of the park, where arrest wagons and police chauffeurs awaited.

 

This dispatch was produced in collaboration with DigBoston and the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

 

ZACK HUFFMAN
+ posts

Zack is a veteran reporter. He writes for DigBoston and VICE, and formerly reported for the Boston Courant and Bulletin Newspapers.

  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    Tainted Drug Evidence Victims Still Waiting For Settlement Payments
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    Parabola Center Announces 50 Partners In Effort To Boost Independent Cannabis Businesses
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    GUNS & GRAVY: THE PILGRIM GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT

Filed Under: News, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: alt right, antifa, Black Lives Matter, Boston, Boston Common, BPD, Charlottesville, Commissioner William Evans, Donald Trump, gun, MAGA, mayor Marty Walsh, nazis, racists

WHAT’S NEW

State Wire: Advocates Push For 'Tax Fairness' With Expanded Child Tax Credits

State Wire: Advocates Push For ‘Tax Fairness’ With Expanded Child Tax Credits

Mass Lawmakers Hear Testimony On Cannabis Testing, Medical Access

Mass Lawmakers Hear Testimony On Cannabis Testing, Medical Access

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • Over Yondr: Are Cell Phone Pouches At Shows Liberating, Dangerous, Or Annoying?
  • Deep Cuts Brings Sandwiches, Craft Beer, And Live Music To Medford
  • Daring Greatly: TikTok Star Alden McWayne (aka Gucci Pineapple) On Scheming And Dreaming
  • Dead As Ever: Meet The Rising Dark Star Of Boston’s Jam Band Scene

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com