A march by white supremacists hoping to attract new members and inform Utahns about the group's ideas was met Monday night by outraged opponents, and the confrontation required police intervention.
About 30 members of the United White Workers Class held a rally and march that started at 6 p.m. at the Utah Capitol and lasted nearly two hours.A group of protesters also gathered at the Capitol and followed the neo-Nazi group throughout its march toward the Federal Building. While at the Federal Building, the anti-Nazi group picked up more support and in the end numbered nearly 300.
The skinheads stayed at the Federal Building, on the corner of State Street and 100 South, for about 30 minutes. During that time, both groups exchanged chants and obscenities.
Despite sometimes heated exchanges and violent threats between the two sides, Salt Lake police officers managed to keep the groups separated throughout the rally.
No arrests were made and no injuries were reported. However, one man accused of disorderly conduct was taken into custody during the march. He was released after the crowds had dispersed.
The skinheads - many of whom were from out of town - said they were marching to "wake up" Utahns.
"We're just here to wake up the people of Utah," said one of the leaders of the group who wished to remain anonymous. When asked why the group chose to march in Utah he said, "This is one of the last Anglo-Saxon states left."
He added that the group's reception in Utah has been good and that its membership numbers had reached 50,000. Most of those members are in southern Utah, said the group's spokesman, but he wasn't specific about how the group documented those numbers.
The group said it has set up a headquarters in Salt Lake City and plans to recruit members. A similar group tried to start a radio program in Utah a few years ago but was unsuccessful.
The skinheads are most well-known for their loud and often violent opposition to non-white races, Jews and homosexuals.
The protesters often drowned out the chants of the skinheads, and passers-by stopped only long enough to spit at them or yell their disapproval.
One of the protesters tried to rally the people who gathered on the steps in opposition to the skinheads.
"That's where these guys will lose out - if we can unify," said Dan Blanchard, a member of Utahns Against Aryan Nations.
"Let them know racism is not acceptable here in Utah," said Nancy Boyasko, a member of the Socialist Workers Party and candidate for the Salt Lake City Council, District 4.
The protesters were stopped from following the skinheads back up to the Capitol so that the white supremacists could disperse without harassment.