Two men showed up at a Black Lives Matter protest in Fallon, Nevada, on Monday wearing white Ku Klux Klan hoods. One of the men was holding a flag in support of President Donald Trump.
The Reno Gazette Journal reports: About 70 people gathered in Millennium Park in support of Black Lives Matter as a group of about 20 people, many armed, rallied nearby to support the Second Amendment, said Fallon Police Sgt. Jose Perez. The latter group became larger later in the afternoon. At one point, one crowd chanted “Black Lives Matter” as the other crowd chanted “All lives matter” across the street. About two hours into the protests, which began at 4 p.m., and after at least one tense exchange of words, members of the Black Lives Matter group crossed the street to hug people in the Second Amendment group. Later, some also agreed to put down their signs as others put down their guns. As people began leaving around 6:30 p.m., a group of three men walked by wearing pointy white hoods like those worn by the Ku Klux Klan. They quickly took off the hoods but incurred anger from people in both the Black Lives Matter and Second Amendment groups before walking away.
More from Newsweek: Video has emerged showing the moment protesters from both sides came together to jeer and chant against the men who showed up at the demonstration in Fallon on Monday. The clip shows one officer arriving to talk to the men in white hoods while at least one protester chants: “No Trump, No KKK, no racist, fascist USA.” The footage ends with both men appearing to turn and walk away from the crowd after being spoken to by the officer. The incident had marred what had been a peaceful protest, which resulted in BLM protesters and “all lives matter” counter-demonstrators, some of whom were armed, coming together and hugging.
Watch a report from KTVN-TV below.
