Neo-NazizCounted on Disrupting A Pride Event~It Didn't Go Well For Them

Chris Pohlhaus | Screenshot

Daniel Villarreal 

 About 10 neo-Nazis wearing matching red and black outfits, sunglasses, and masks protested Athens Pridefest in Georgia last Saturday, while holding a black flag with a white swastika on it, delivering Nazi salutes, and reportedly shouting “Heil Hitler” along with racist and anti-gay slurs. Pride attendees booed them, recorded their activities, walked around them with a large banner to hide their hateful display, and yelled, “Show your face, you f***ing cowards,” The Advocate reported.

The watchdog group StopAntisemitism identified the group as the Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi group founded by Christopher Pohlhaus. While police and event organizers reported neither violence nor arrests, the group is just part of a rising wave of antisemitic and white supremacist groups that have increasingly protested LGBTQ+ events in the recent past.

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In a statement, the Athens Pride and Queer Collective (which organized the Pridefest) said it “unequivocally condemns” the group, and added, “Their appearance was intended to intimidate, divide, and spread fear, but it failed to overshadow the overwhelming spirit of joy, solidarity, and love that defined our community celebration.”

Pridefest included a parade, a daytime kids’ zone (with inflatable play areas, face-painting, and other art activities), a family-friendly musical showcase, a vendor fair, evening drag performances, and an after-party.

About 20 Blood Tribe members protested a drag brunch in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, April 29, chanting the words “Blood,” “Under the Aryan Sun,” and “No transgenders on our streets,” while throwing Nazi salutes. Pohlhaus, the group’s founder, is a Marine Corps vet who led a similar protest against a drag queen story hour in Akron, Ohio, in mid-March of that year.

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have become a regular fixture at anti-LGBTQ+ protests. In September 2022, neo-Nazis joined Proud Boys in Pflugerville, Texas, to protest an all-ages drag brunch. In October 2022, organizers of an Orlando, Florida, Drag Queen Story Hour canceled their event after it was threatened by neo-Nazi hate groups. 

Police in Idaho arrested 31 members of the Texas-based white supremacist group Patriot Front on misdemeanor criminal conspiracy charges on June 11, 2022, after police stopped their U-Haul truck near a “Pride in the Park” event. Video shows police opening the U-Haul to reveal members packed inside.

The groups contributed to a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents in 2023 and also in 2022. Threats by extremists led the State Department to warn of terrorist attacks during Pride Month 2024. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a similar warning that year. Experts also note that these neo-Nazis and white supremacists are recruiting new membersduring their anti-LGBTQ+ protests.

In June 2023, the Western States Center, an anti-bigotry organization, wrote a guide on “Protecting Pride,” explaining how to protect events from extremist hate.

The guide recommends that event organizers create a vocally supportive coalition of partnerships with government, business, faith, and community organizations; coordinate with law enforcement to monitor and document online and local extremist threats; create safety response plans for coordinators and attendees to follow at events; and also teaches how to use media spokespeople to flip “groomer” claims by showing how extremists threaten local kids and families with violence and hate.

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