No-Show Nazis Turn Murfreesboro Rally into Dud

Call it the Case of the No-Show Nazis.

The plan was for white supremacists to make a show of force in Murfreesboro on Saturday, rallying at the city courthouse next to plaques honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest and memorials to fallen confederate soldiers. But it all fizzled out when protesters organized by the League of the South were badly outnumbered in Shelbyville on Saturday morning and failed to even make it to Murfreesboro in the afternoon.

In Shelbyville, around 150 white supremacists gathered and marched, chanting “blood and soil” and “white lives matter” according to observers. A counter demonstration, according to one witness, was “at least triple” the size of the racists, and counter protesters played "La Bamba" and drowned out the message from League of the South leader Michael Hill.

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By the time of the Murfreesboro rally at 1 p.m., though, the anti-racism protesters numbered between 800 and 1,000.

The area around the protest zone was blocked completely by city officials, who used garbage trucks, tow trucks, police vehicles and other heavy machinery to keep anyone from driving into the historic Murfreesboro city square. With the exception of one photography shop, which played hymns over the loudspeaker, businesses were closed and many had boarded up their windows. Helicopters and drones buzzed overhead.

Shawn Hackinson, owner of The Alley on Main, told the Scene that a group of 12-15 regulars had helped him put up plywood the night before. “The city has done a phenomenal job of preparing us for this,” he says, noting that Murfreesboro police had come to him several weeks before to inform him of their plans.

Speedway Motors on Broad Street, just two blocks from the square, remained open, but the attention kept most car buyers away. On a typical Saturday, Speedway generally sells around 15 cars. Saturday? Just one before 1 p.m.

“The police told us if they start bashing cars, you can’t shoot them,” owner Jeff Dehainaut says. “If they threaten your life, you can.”

Since moving the cars off of his lot was not really an option, he and his sales force remained open. “We’re down here just to show they can’t do this to us,” he says.

The city made a very public show of force, enlisting the aid of the sheriff’s office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officers, Metro Nashville Police Department officers, state troopers and even agents from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Almost all were outfitted in bulletproof vests and many carried high-powered assault rifles. The city also stationed sharpshooters on the roofs of businesses on each side of the square.

A small group of racists, who had skipped the Shelbyville rally, made their way through police checkpoints and metal detectors to stand next to the courthouse in anticipation of the larger group joining them.  Police separated the white supremacists and counter protesters from #MurfreesboroLoves with multiple sets of fencing and officers on foot and horseback. Media substantially outnumbered Confederate-clad supporters, leading to the odd scene of one father posing with his three young children performing a Nazi salute while several dozen photographers and reporters gathered around them.

Occasionally, attention seeking white supremacists would wander over to the fencing, inciting catcalls and chants from the counter protesters. After insulting virtually every aspect of the counter demonstrators, one racist yelled “Ain’t nobody care about that faggot-ass Obama, either,” before being pulled back by his two friends.

By 3 p.m., it became increasingly apparent that the event wouldn’t happen. A spokesperson for the League of the South, Hunter Wallace, tweeted out “Had some intel Murfreesboro was a lawsuit trap. Not worth the risk,” and then confirmed that the white supremacists were headed to Henry Horton State Park. Wallace also tried to claim that Murfreesboro was just a “backup plan” and claimed success in spreading the group’s message.

That message might have been lost on the white supremacist stragglers who left to the taunts of jubilant counter protesters.

"NO-SHOW NAZ-IS!" *clap*clap*clap*clap*clap* "NO-SHOW NAZ-IS!" *clap*clap*clap*clap*clap*