Tischhauser believes the decision by Hate Club 1488, which is based in St. Louis, Missouri, to hold the rally in Columbus was carefully planned to stoke fear and associate itself with Trump's victory. .
“It was a well-timed march. They chose their place, an island of blue in a sea of red,” says Tischhauser. “And the way immigrants were used by GOP elected officials and candidates during the election has really put Ohio on the map for groups like the hate club.”
Other extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Blood Tribe are also active in Ohio. “White power groups are competing among themselves with limited resources of people they can recruit and money to raise,” Tischhauser said. “What they're trying to say is, 'We're the realest of the neo-Nazis.'
In August, a coalition of activist groups in the state formed Ohioans Against Extremism in response to increasing extremism in the streets and at the State House. Their executive director, Maria Bruno, says she's grateful to see the national spotlight put on the issue of growing extremism in Ohio after the Columbus rally, but a little surprised it took so long. “At the same time, it's hard to realize where you all have been?” Bruno says. “This is something I and marginalized communities in Ohio have been screaming about for years.”
Blood Tribe sets up shop in Ohio in 2023 and a number of shocking events occur thereafter. twenty members of the blood tribe showed for a Pride program and a Jewish center in Toledo; 26 armed blood tribe members mobilized outside a Drag Story Hour in Columbus, chanting “There will be blood”; A alliance of extremist groups Rally outside Drag Queen Story Hour in Wadsworth, including Blood Tribe, Proud Boys, and White Lives Matter; White Lives Matter member fire bombing A progressive church in Chesterland, Ohio, which was Planning Drag Queen Story Hour,
Earlier this year, Nashville, Tennessee, also emerged as a flashpoint for neo-Nazi activity. In February, about 36 members of the blood tribe And another group called the Vineland Rebels marched through historically black neighborhoods in Nashville, chanting “Deport every Mexican” and giving Nazi salutes. Over the course of several weeks in July, a network called the Goyim Defense League organized several anti-Semitic rallies in Nashville. ,goy is a Hebrew term used to describe non-Jews, sometimes derogatorily, which has been appropriated by anti-Semites).
In one example, about 30 members of The Goyim Defense League wore T-shirts reading “Whites Against Replacement” and disrupted a public meeting of the Nashville-Davidson County Metro Council, making Nazi salutes and shouting abuse at the media and spectators. According to The Guardian, nashville police chief It turned out that the Goyim Defense League had secured a temporary residence in Scottsville, Kentucky, about 65 miles away. It appears his focus was on Nashville because, like Columbus, it is a bastion of liberalism in the red state.
Tischhauser expects these groups to ramp up demonstrations as they envision themselves being involved and influencing not only state but also federal policies. And by latching onto Trumpism — whether MAGA likes it or not — they are trying to incite their supporters to support an increasingly extreme version of their president.