ARA official post-M21 release
Activists Successfully shut down Neo-Nazi March
More than 500 people prevent racist rally in downtown Calgary
More than 500 anti-racist activists converged on downtown Calgary this afternoon to successfully prevent local neo-Nazi hate group the Aryan Guard from holding a rally of their own.
"Going into the day, our best-case scenario was that we actually stop the Aryan Guard from reaching their planned destination: City Hall," says Lev, a member of Anti-Racist Action Calgary, one of the many groups who helped organize the event.
"In that respect, we think the rally today was a major success."
The anti-racist demonstrators staged their own peaceful rally at City Hall this morning to celebrate the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination.
However, when about 30 members of the Aryan Guard arrived at Mewata Armoury around 3:00 p.m. the anti-racists, their numbers bolstered by outraged passersby, set in motion their plan to prevent the Aryan Guard from reaching City Hall.
The two groups clashed several times as police attempted to block the progress of the ant-racists and move the Aryan Guard closer and closer to City Hall.
Anti-Racist Action has received several reliable reports of police brutality and preemptive arrests taking place against anti-racism protesters throughout the afternoon.
Anyone who feels they were the victim of excessive force at the hands of Calgary police are being urged to document the details of the assault as well as any injuries they sustained, and to contact Anti-Racist Action Calgary and antiracistcalgary@gmail.com.
"From the use of excessive force and preemptive arrests to the ignoring of blatant acts of violence committed by the Aryan Guard in front of their very eyes, the Calgary Police Service today damaged their reputation in the minds of many Calgarians," says Lev.
Ultimately, the Aryan Guard made it just three blocks for their drop-off point before being put aboard city buses by police and returned to their transportation.