News and HeadlinesIndianapolis Local NewsIndianapolisDowntown

Actions

Patriot Front, a group considered to be white nationalists, seen marching through downtown Indianapolis

patriot front in indianapolis.png
Posted
and last updated

INDIANAPOLIS — What appears to be a group of people part of the Patriot Front movement marched Saturday through downtown Indianapolis.

The group was seen marching around downtown Indianapolis, including on Monument Circle during the Indianapolis Labor Fest.

It's not clear why they were marching and it hasn't been posted under the action section on the group's website yet. The group did post videos of its demonstrations in Indianapolis in one of its Telegram channels.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group is a white nationalist hate group that broke off from Vanguard American after the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Some people in the group were seen carrying flags similar to the graphics posted on the group’s website.

Video of the group marching on Market Street between the Indiana Statehouse and Monument Circle shows some holding a banner saying "RECLAIM AMERICA." They were also chanting in part of the video, but it's not clear what they were saying.

brendan bow.png

Some in the group were seen carrying signs saying “America is not safe.”

Those marching in the group were wearing what appears to be navy blue and black shirts, khaki pants and hats, white face coverings and some were carrying shields.

According to the group's website, Indiana is one of the top five states for its activities — just behind Massachusetts and Michigan and ahead of Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Action updates on its website state the group recently hung up a banner on an overpass in Noblesville. The update was posted on Aug. 31, but it’s not clear when or where the banner was hung up.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett provided the following statement: "Hate has no place in Indianapolis. The individuals who marched Downtown Saturday do not represent the values of our community, and we condemn their message in the strongest terms possible.”