Outrage erupts as police allow neo-Nazis to protest outside Georgia synagogue

[Behind the Aegis]

On Saturday, an appalling incident took place in which neo-Nazis waving swastika flags demonstrated outside a Chabad synagogue in Cobb County, Georgia. The community was shaken on Saturday as worshippers were confronted with a distressing sight of Neo-Nazis staging a protest outside their sacred place of worship, according to a report by the Daily Mail, based on the online media posts of members of the synagogue. In addition, other antisemitic incidents occurred across the state, resulting in the arrest of the leader of a white nationalist hate group.

A group of approximately twelve individuals belonging to the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a hate group notorious for espousing antisemitic conspiracy theories, targeted the Chabad of Cobb County synagogue in East Cobb, situated just north of Atlanta.

In response to this appalling demonstration, law enforcement was alerted and arrived at the scene. However, they opted to allow the protest to proceed, allowing the Jewish members of the congregation to confront the Neo-Nazis directly. Videos circulating on social media capture the intense exchanges, with the Jewish worshippers expressing their outrage and demanding the immediate departure of the hate group members.

Stewart Levy, a member of the targeted, wrote on Facebook that he is overwhelmed. “Antisemitism at my synagogue. The most frightening thing I have seen in my 65 years. It's very hard to believe that this is happening in Cobb County. The police are allowing it because it is 'free speech,'” he wrote.

more...


Neo-Nazi wave swastika flags outside multiple Georgia synagogues © Provided by New York Post

[marble falls]

1. Breath taking. Unbelievable.

[Cha]

2. Fucking Insane Nazis.

[czarjak]

3. Unacceptable!

[brooklynite]

37. Perfectly acceptable

As ugly as their message is, they have a constitutional right to express it. They're standing on a public sidewalk, not on the Synagogue's property.

If you're prepared to say that someone else's speech is inappropriate, are you prepared for someone else to say the same about yours?

[czarjak]

43. Fuck my feelings? Got it.

Someone else saying my speech is unacceptable doesn't make it so.

[Jedi Guy]

49. "Someone else saying my speech is unacceptable doesn't make it so."

Who gets to decide? Whom do you empower to decide which speech is and isn't appropriate? Local government? State government? The federal government? If one of those entities labels speech inappropriate, can that determination be challenged? To whom does the appeal get directed?

If today you hand a government entity the power to determine which speech is acceptable and which speech isn't, tomorrow that government may be run by people who think your speech is unacceptable. Once that power has been ceded to the government, there's no getting it back.

This protest is Constitutionally protected speech, abhorrent as it is. They have the right to hold and publicly express these views. That's how the First Amendment works. The Supreme Court has defined very narrow limits to freedom of speech, and this protest, hateful as it is, doesn't fall foul of those.

It has nothing to do with your feelings or mine; it has to do with how freedom of speech works in America, and has worked for a long, long time.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

50. Well said! n/t

[czarjak]

54. Yelling fire in a crowded theater?

[former9thward]

55. A sidewalk is not a crowded theater.

[H2O Man]

56. There are, of course,

some exceptions to Amendment 1. They are defined by what is commonly known as "constitutional law," meaning the decisions of the US Supreme Court. "Yelling fire in a crowded theater" is, obviously, the exception that even those with no grasp of USSC decisions is able to identify.

The person who stated this was protected speech is correct. Nazi shitheads have been found to have the Amendment 1 right to engage in this type of activity. Stating otherwise, as if police or others could legally stop them, shows ignorance of settled law. As offensive as they are, it is important to recognize that Amendment 1 intends to protect offensive speech, including extremely offensive speech.

These idiots may find that there are some neighborhoods where people would respond in other ways.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

48. Truth n/t

[MagickMuffin]

4. Free speech equals Hate speech in this instance

Nazi Enforcers just doing what they can’t do while on duty and in uniform.

[elleng]

18. Free speech often equals Hate speech.

[Blue Owl]

5. At a glance I thought it was a Moms For Liberty rally

[sheshe2]

6. Hate speech is not free speech.

According to the report, earlier in the day, protests organized by the GDL erupted outside Temple Beth Israel in downtown Macon. Witnesses reported Minadeo Jr. using a bullhorn to shout obscenities and spread hate-filled messages. Local law enforcement, already monitoring the situation, swiftly took action and charged him with disorderly conduct and public disturbance.

This is wrong on so many levels.

I am so sorry, BtA.

[Hortensis]

29. Bullhorns, perhaps other actions, made the difference in policing.

Hate speech is not free speech, but police have to decide whether to enforce is the best action in each situation. A "little" hate speech is normally allowed, especially if it's migratory. That could have to change in future if this were to become more prevalent.

[tritsofme]

32. The First Amendment contains no exception for "hate speech"

But it sure allows for these scum to show us who they are.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

47. Hate speech is free speech

Doesn't make it less disgusting or less hateful, but it's still protected.

[Jedi Guy]

52. The term "hate speech" has no legal meaning. Their speech here is free speech.

When people use the term "hate speech" what they're really saying is "any speech I really don't like." That notion runs fundamentally counter to the First Amendment. As the old saying goes, "I detest what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That is a cornerstone of liberal American democracy and always has been.

Brandenburg v. Ohio established the limits of free speech in America, and Nazis spouting their nonsense on a public sidewalk outside a synagogue doesn't cross those established lines. They are absolutely and without question assholes to the last, but they're breaking no law here. If being an asshole were illegal, lots of people would be behind bars.

The remedy for bad speech is good speech and societal repercussions. They were brave enough to show their faces here, so let the community sort them out by ostracizing, shaming, and shunning. Let their employers decide if they really, really want to be associated with these people.

[Silent Type]

7. Fortunately, the anti-Nazi protesters -- not in frame -- significantly outnumbered these cretins.

Not comfortable with prohibiting such protests, but jeeezus— What the fuck is wrong with Nazis, racists, bigots, etc.?

[TreasonousBastard]

9. I find it horrific that we need to field anti-Nazisat all. My father was drafted...

tó help kill off Hitler's minions and my next door neighbors had Grandma with "that" tattoo on her arm living with them.
.
It took me a while to realize just how horrible that time really was. In Germany today, see just how far you get promoting the NPD.

They. will always have some support because they are human and humans often suck.

[3Hotdogs]

8. It had to be allowed to proceed. I remind you of one, George Lincoln Rockwell in Skokie, Ill.

[GoneOffShore]

16. And the both ACLU and the courts got it wrong in that instance.

[ShazzieB]

20. Skokie, yes, I remember it well!

You are correct that Nazis once planned a march in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, IL, and courts ruled that the march needed to be allowed in the name of free speech. However, Rockwell was not involved. (He was deceased by then, shot and killed by an ex-member of his own group in 1967).

The Skokie march was instigated by Francis Joseph Collin, founder of the National Socialist Party of America. When Collin's group announced plans to march in Skokie in the late 70s, they were met with vehement objections from residents of the community, which was 40% Jewish, including a large number of Holocaust survivors.

Court cases ensued, resulting in rulings that favored the Nazis being allowed to march in Skokie, but they ended up marching in Chicago instead, for reasons I can't recall. It may have been due to the Nazis' fears for their own safety, but I can't swear to that. What I do know is that there was a huge uproar in Skokie, that I'm pretty sure included threats of violence (understandably so, imo).

The whole episode spawned the establishment of a small Holocaust Museum in Skokie, which eventually grew into the well-known and respected Illinois Holocaust Museum. So in a way, you could say the Nazis' plans backfired on them!

[moonshinegnomie]

45. i lived in skokie at the time

my step dad fled teh holocaust. we had to make sure we were out of town the day of the march just in case.

they tried to march but were turned away at the village limits

[former9thward]

57. No one tried to march in Skokie.

And they were not stopped at the village limits. In return for not marching in Skokie the Carter Justice Department negotiated an agreement where they were allowed to have a demonstration in downtown Chicago, they were allowed to have access to Chicago city parks (which they had been previously denied) and the state legislature dumped anti-Nazi legislation.

This link has an account by the ACLU attorney which represented the Nazis in the lawsuits and negotiations.

https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/rights-protesters/skokie-case-how-i-came-represent-free-speech-rights-nazis

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

10. no masks! not afraid to publicly nazi.

[NowISeetheLight]

24. What I Noticed

Hopefully these Nazis are exposed we fully. The fact they don't feel the need to hide their identities says a lot about the damage Trump and White Christian Nationalism has done to America.

[Hortensis]

31. And yet likely they're mistaken... :) "Respectable" Georgians

(a large majority see themselves that way in this Bible Belt state) strongly disapprove of this kind of thing.

[Buns_of_Fire]

11. Jon Minadeo, Jr.: Basically chased out of California,

moved to what he considers fertile ground in Florida... and probably destined to the same reward as another famous American Nazi, George Lincoln Rockwell -- shot by one of his own people.

Antisemitic group Goyim TV relocated to Florida, an emerging hotspot for extremists
The antisemitic group hopes Florida will be more hospitable to them - and may have reason to believe that to be true.
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-725095

[LoisB]

12. Maybe it's just me but there sure seems to be a very thin line between free speech and

harassment.

[elleng]

19. There often is a thin line between the two.

Definitions difficult; enforcement moreso.

[inthewind21]

34. May I remind

of The Westboro Baptist church. Abortion clinic protests and every other hateful rally/protest ever held. It IS protected under the 1st amendment.

[Warpy]

13. I'd rather have this scum right out in the open, recognized by employers

and counter protested. Please tell me there was some counter protest.

In any case, they invariably go away as soon as one of them really, really has to pee. It's not like the temple is going to allow them to use the facilities.

[Hortensis]

33. Exactly. And raising alarms in the community that "it" could happen here.

In addition to necessary bodily functions, after a while services finish, people leave, and the point of continuing disappears with them.

[Kablooie]

14. Choose Happy?

They have a right to protest, unfortunately, but for Nazis to protest synagogues is hate speech and should not be allowed.

(The lady’s shirt says Choose Happy. Sheesh)

[nvme]

15. Make those motherfuckers famous!

shine a light on these people and make them known. post their fotos to show them standing up for their first amendment rights and how they are stopping my fellow Jews from being able to use their first amendment right to practice their religion. Man, this is despicable.

[Hestia]

17. Skokie, Ill 1977 part deux

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Party_of_America_v._Village_of_Skokie

National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 (1977), arising out of what is sometimes referred to as the Skokie Affair,[1] was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court dealing with freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. This case is considered a "classic" free speech case in constitutional law classes.[2] Related court decisions are captioned Skokie v. NSPA, Collin v. Smith,[3] and Smith v. Collin.[4] The Supreme Court ruled 5–4, per curiam.[5][6] The Supreme Court's 1977 ruling granted certiorari and reversed and remanded the Illinois Supreme Court's denial to lift the lower court's injunction on the NSPA's march.[7] In other words: the courts decided a person's assertion that speech is being restrained must be reviewed immediately by the judiciary.[8] By requiring the state court to consider the neo-Nazis' appeal without delay, the U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the door to allowing the National Socialist Party of America to march.

Background

Before the Skokie Affair, Frank Collin and his neo-Nazi group, the NSPA, would regularly hold demonstrations in Marquette Park, where the NSPA was headquartered. However, the Chicago authorities would eventually block these plans by requiring the NSPA to post a $350,000 public safety insurance bond and by banning political demonstrations in Marquette Park.[9][10] While Collin did file a lawsuit against the City of Chicago for a violation against his first amendment rights, he realized that this case would get tied up in the courts for far longer than he was willing to wait to begin marching again.[11]

On October 4, 1976, Collin sent out letters to the park districts of the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, requesting permits for the NSPA to hold a white power demonstration.[11][12] While some suburbs chose to ignore their letter, Skokie—home to a significant number of Jewish people, many of them survivors of the Holocaust[13]—chose to respond.[14] At first, the Skokie mayor and Village Council intended to allow the NSPA to demonstrate; the village's tactic was to ignore them, in order to give the NSPA as little publicity as possible.[15][16] The Jewish community found this unacceptable and held meetings throughout the month of April to discuss the matter. The mayor and the Village Council heard their concerns and on April 27, 1977, ordered village attorney, Harvey Schwartz, to seek an injunction.[16]

[more at link]

The above issue at the time was the very definition of a BFD when it happened. I was still in HS at the time and teachers in all our classes had discussions about the issue, even during maths classes.

Unfortunately, this issue is not new and has already been ruled upon more than once...

[elleng]

21. *On behalf of the NSPA, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the injunction.

The ACLU assigned civil rights attorneys David Goldberger[18][25] and Burton Joseph to Collin's cases.[26][27] The ACLU argued that the injunction violated the First Amendment rights of the marchers to express themselves. The ACLU challenge was unsuccessful at the lower court level. . . In parallel litigation in the federal courts, under the caption Collin v. Smith, the village's ordinance was declared unconstitutional, first by the district court[33] and then by divided vote of the Seventh Circuit court of appeals.[3] Over a published dissent by Justice Blackmun (joined by Justice White) giving a detailed history of the case and an overview of the issues involved, the U.S. Supreme Court denied further review. . . Effect of the decision
In the summer of 1978, in response to the Supreme Court's decision, some Holocaust survivors set up a museum on the Main Street of Skokie to commemorate those who had died in the concentration camps. The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center remains open today, having been moved to a new permanent location on Woods Drive in 2009.

Ultimately, the NSPA failed to carry through its march in Skokie, marching in Chicago instead when they had gained permission. From a legal point of view,[according to whom?] the litigation left undecided, at the Supreme Court level, whether such older precedents as Beauharnais v. Illinois and Terminiello v. Chicago remain authoritative statements of how the First Amendment applies to provocative and intimidating hate speech expressing fascist or racist ideas.[34] According to Nadine Strossen, the case was part of a gradual process in the 20th century where the Court strengthened First Amendment protections and narrowed down the application of earlier decisions which upheld restrictions of free speech, in part due to the realisation that the Illinois restrictions on Nazi "hate speech" were so broad they could have been equally used to prohibit Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrations in Skokie.'

((David Goldberger was a friend of mine, more experienced than I at the time.))

[grantcart]

22. Terrorists

Nazis are always the best billboard disproving white supremacists.

[NowISeetheLight]

23. MFL Book Fair?

Did Moms For Liberty set up a table for a Book Fair?

[Solly Mack]

25. ...

[RSherman]

26. Yet, police attacked black church people peacefully walking to the polls

https://www.democracynow.org/2020/11/2/alamance_county_voting_march_police

This church group let the local community leaders know they would be marching to the polls. It was planned for months. The minister obtained a permit. Yet, when they actually started walking, police showed up and told them to get off the road and onto the sidewalk. When men, women, and children did not move quickly enough, they were pepper sprayed.

[Hortensis]

36. Were any police or officials ultimately fired? I see two group lawsuits

in federal court against the county and town were settled in the plaintiffs' favor, one in 2021 and one in 2022. The county and town had both denied the claims.

More than three dozen people are now listed as defendants, both in their personal and official capacities, including: Alamance County sheriff Terry Johnson; Graham police chief Kristy Cole; numerous sheriff’s deputies and Graham police officers who were on duty during the march; and the city of Graham.

[RSherman]

38. I don't know

I never heard any follow up. I just remember being outraged at the time. thanks for the info.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. It has always been here

But Trump made it "okay" to crawl out of their slimy holes.

Mother F*ckers!

[LeftinOH]

28. Their faces are showing: Time to publicly name and shame. n/t

[OldBaldy1701E]

44. Exactly!

But first, the next time you see this occurring at your place of worship, remember to point and laugh. Make sure to get everyone there to do it as well. let the kids point and laugh, their ridicule can really sting an adult's fragile feelings. But, be ready. They may decide that they should stop you from laughing. That is when you need to remind them that here in America, asses receive a whoopin' all the time, and it is usually the fat, pasty white asses that receive it. (I would not count on those buzzcut wearing bubbas to have done much of anything even if the protestors had stepped into the property so one should always be ready for assholery.)

[Kid Berwyn]

30. Photograph. Identify. Shame.

And if they lose their fortunes or jobs in the process, oh well.

[Stuart G]

35. 2 ladies holding the Nazi flag, will never live this down. " Stupid is VERY Stupid."

NO CLUE, SAYS STU.

[yankee87]

39. Antifa

I'm named after my uncle, an original Antifa, who died fighting these Aholes. I'm surprised Cobb County is a very expensive area to live in. I lived for over 12 years in Woodstock, the next town north.

[LudwigPastorius]

40. Wearing a "Choose Happy" shirt and carrying a Nazi flag...

I guess for cognitive dissonance to occur there must be actual thoughts involved...something you won't find in these hateful, smooth-brained, cousin fuckers.

[LiberalFighter]

41. They need to be identified and their names and employers published.

[Elessar Zappa]

42. Disgusting but

I don’t see where the police could’ve done anything unless they stepped on to the synagogue’s property.

[WarGamer]

46. I would have liked to see counter protests by clowns riding tricycles and stilts...

Mock them.

[dalton99a]

51. Their leader is this Mexican-American psychopath:

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/neo-nazi-jon-minadeo-sells-hate-on-odysee-entropy-platforms-16416156
Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute
Naomi Feinstein and Izzy Kapnick March 2, 2023 1:27PM

[Jedi Guy]

53. Free speech can be abhorrent, but it is still free speech nonetheless. N/T