BRIGHTON — For the third time, a white supremacist demonstration took place in Livingston County, this time on Saturday, Aug. 17, near Brighton’s business district.
The businesses condemned the protest, which was attended by a group of fewer than 12 people similar to those who protested in Howell last month.
Spencer Goller, who runs the Brighton Coffee House and Theatre with his mother, said protesters had been “intimidating” customers and staff throughout the day.
Read more: President Trump visits Howell on Tuesday, one month after controversial demonstration
“If you were downtown today, you may have noticed a white supremacist protest taking place very close to our building. They were on the sidewalk, which is public property, and they have a right to protest, and we support that right. But we do not support this particular message, and we certainly do not support the intimidation of our crew and customers that has continued throughout the day,” Gollar said in a video posted to social media. “We hope this situation is resolved quickly and peacefully.”
Photos circulating on social media, including a post from 2 Dandelions Bookshop, say: “Hate has no place in Brighton. Today’s protesters do not represent our community. We are united in our determination to be a welcoming place for all.”
Plus: ‘We love Hitler. We love Trump,’ white supremacists yell in Howell as Trump holds rally in GR
The nearby boutique, Forest & Philly’s, has closed.
“Due to the hate protests taking place in our neighborhood, it is with deep regret that we will be closing our store today,” the company wrote on Facebook. “We believe hate has no place in our community and want to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees and customers.”
The demonstration came on the same day that former President Donald Trump announced he would be speaking about crime and safety on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in Howell.
Read more: President Trump visits Howell on Tuesday, one month after controversial demonstration
Howell’s planned visit will mark Trump’s sixth visit to the key battleground state of Michigan this year. Howell made headlines across the state during Trump’s visit to Grand Rapids in July — his first rally since the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania — when white supremacists organized demonstrations there in support of the former president.
City officials said one group chanted “Heil Hitler” during the march, which lasted about 30 minutes. About a dozen protesters, wearing face coverings and holding signs, gathered on the lawn of the Livingston County Historic Courthouse.
Demonstrators marched down Grand River Avenue to the lawn of the Howell Carnegie District Library, where library trustees confronted them and ordered them to leave. They proceeded to their cars under guard by Howell police, who confirmed that some of the demonstrators were from outside the area, including Saginaw and Macomb counties.
The second demonstration, in which participants were seen waving flags bearing swastikas, the word “KKK” and other anti-Semitic messages, took place on the overpass at Interstate 96 and Latson Road, according to photos and videos posted to a community Facebook group. It was not immediately clear whether the protesters were the same people who marched downtown, but both groups wore masks and clothing similar to those who demonstrated in Brighton on Saturday.
Video of the July incident showed protesters repeatedly chanting, “We love Hitler. We love Trump.” They were also carrying Trump flags.
A spokesman for Trump strongly denied any connection between Tuesday’s campaign event and last month’s protests, calling the accusation “absurd,” The Washington Post reported.
But there are concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“The racists and white supremacists who marched in Trump’s name in Howell last month have all seen him praise Hitler, defend neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and tell far-right extremists to ‘stand back and stand by.’ Trump’s actions have emboldened them, and Michiganders can expect more of the same when he comes to town next week,” Alyssa Bradley, Harris’ Michigan communications director, said in a statement, according to The Washington Post.
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Livingston County has had a long and complicated history with racism, ever since Robert Miles, a former Grand Dragon of the Michigan Ku Klux Klan (KKK), settled on a 70-acre farm in Cohocta Township, just north of Howell.
“President Trump visited Howell to send a strong message of law and order, and when he returns to the White House he will make clear that crime, violence and hatred in any form have no place in our country,” Leavitt wrote in the Post.
—Cassandra Lybrink is local editor for The Livingston Daily. Contact her at clybrink@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CassLybrink.
