Hundreds of members of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, marched through the streets of Washington, D.C., as politically divisive Independence Day celebrations began.
The group announced on its digital platforms that about 400 of its members had arrived in the capital, where international news agencies observed their march as they wore a uniform consisting of khaki pants, hats and blue shirts, covering their faces with white masks and black sunglasses.
The symbolism of the chants and slogans of fascism
Videos circulating on social media showed members of the group advancing military steps to the beat of drums near the Capitol, carrying the group's flags and formations contrary to the American flag, amid chants calling for what they called "Restore America."
Researchers at George Washington University's Extremism Program explained that the group relies on a visual synthesis that incorporates the colors of the American flag to portray itself as a mainstream nationalist, while its structural slogans reproduce the fascist symbols that prevailed in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s.
Ideological Roots and Racism
The Patriot Front was founded in 2017 in the wake of the bloody "Unite the Right" protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, after it defected from the racist Vanguard of America.
The group adopts extremist literature that calls for a radical change in the American democratic system under the pretext of its "failure", demanding a return to the values of what it describes as "early European settlers", and spreading an ideological message that the United States is a country dedicated to whites only, while carrying out propaganda campaigns that include distributing leaflets and hanging signs over highways.
Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism officials said the group's public appearance on national holidays was a stark indication of the depth of the growing crisis of racist movements within society.
The Washington D.C. Police said security authorities had closely monitored the group's movements without recording any arrests or reports of violence, reaffirming its constitutional obligation to protect the right of individuals to peacefully express their views while maintaining the public security of visitors and residents.
This sudden march comes to mind the sharp racial and ideological division that the United States has been witnessing for years.
The Patriot Front adopts a strategy of "lightning demonstrations" without prior announcement, to avoid confrontations with anti-racist activists and avoid a tight security cordon, a propaganda tactic that strengthens its media presence and draws attention to far-right proposals at important political junctures such as the anniversary of independence.
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