STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Protests of a white power rally at Stone Mountain Park erupted in violence Saturday as demonstrators set a barricade on fire and threw rocks and fireworks at police attempting to block them.
By midday, park officials worried about the safety of visitors closed attractions such as the cable car, an amusement center and a laser show. The park remained open.
Nine counterprotesters were arrested, most for refusing to take their masks off, authorities said.
Only about two dozen white power demonstrators showed up at the “Rock Stone Mountain” rally and, by early afternoon, they were packing up to leave after one man arrived with a large red flag advertising the Ku Klux Klan. Organizers had said they didn’t want such symbols at the event.
But despite the low turnout – they had predicted up to 2,000 attendees – and the wave of counterprotests that left them isolated inside a barricade, organizers declared the event a success.
“They didn’t win. They didn’t shut us down. We had a successful, peaceful rally,” said Joseph Andrews.
Some of the counterprotesters also began to peel off and go home. Dawn O’Neal and Shweta Malhotra hugged, claiming victory over the Klan.
“We made a statement that we are not gonna get intimidated by and watch this terrorist group harass and incite fear and violence,” O’Neal said. “We stood up to them today.”
The white power group was vastly outnumbered by hundreds of counterprotesters.
Counterprotesters first faced off with police on a park road, chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Hey hey, ho ho, the KKK has got to go.” After being turned away by police, the protesters took to wooded trails attempting to reach the white power groups.
“We’re trying to get to where we can protest them,” Craig Clark said.
At least one man was seen spraying a Georgia State Patrol officer with pepper spray. Others engaged in physical skirmishes with law enforcement dressed in riot gear, said John Bankhead, a spokesman for the Stone Mountain Park Police.
Weaving through the trails, the counterprotesters reached a perch where they were within site of the Confederate flags. When police prevented them from entering, the exchange turned violent. Counter-protesters emptied trash cans and threw rocks toward the barricades. Fireworks exploded.
Police in riot gear grew tense and encircled the white supremacists to keep the groups apart.
“Do not move! Do not break my line,” shouted one police leader.
John Michael Estes and fellow “Rock Stone Mountain” organizer Greg Calhoun said supporters may have been scared away by threats from counterprotesters.
“That’s America these days,” Calhoun said.
Estses said: “The liberal media and the police have kept our people away”.
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