Several groups led by Antifa (Anti-Fascist Action) Sacramento and BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) organized a counter protest. BAMN issued a statement saying that "collective power through mass militant direct action can shut these Nazis down and deal the fascists and white-supremacists a decisive tactical defeat".[7] Antifa Sacramento stated that "fighting fascism was not a political duty, but a moral one", and called for direct action against them.[8][9]
Anti-fascist protesters started arriving around 9:00 a.m. and just before 11:00 a.m. they confronted a TV crew, shouting "no cameras" at reporter Mike Luery of KCRA and the cameraman. The protesters grabbed Luery's mic and attempted to grab the camera.[10]
Just before the TWP rally was scheduled to begin around noon, about 300 or more[11]anarchists and other counter-protesters confronted the group.[1][12] Members of the counter-protesters wore masks and used wooden bats, sticks, fireworks, and other weapons. A few people carried knives, though which side brought the knives used in the subsequent stabbings is unknown. About 400 people were involved in the violence. Ten people were hospitalized, all for multiple stabbing and laceration wounds,[1][11] including two in critical life-threatening condition.[6][13] Only one of the TWP and GSS members was stabbed.[14] The capitol was locked down.[5] Streets were closed. Over 100 police officers responded in riot gear and on horseback. They used rubber pellets and pepper-spray balls.[1]
Matthew Heimbach, the chairman of the TWP, said they expected violence, although they planned the rally to be peaceful.[5] TWP sent about 30 people together with Golden State Skinheads.[citation needed]
Yvette Felarca, an organiser for BAMN, stated that "mass militant action, with an integrated group of people" was used to shut down white nationalists.[15] Felarca was filmed punching a man at the protests.[16][17]
California Assemblyman Jim Cooper was at the Capitol during the riot. He said violence was unnecessary, and the counter-protesters could have shut down the rally with yelling.[18]
Cres Vellucci, a police observer and representative for the National Lawyers Guild, described the violence as a "free-for-all". Vellucci said the police basically let people do what they wanted and fight it out.[19]
Counter-protests were organized by BAMN, a militant left-wing group[22]
Aftermath
A middle school in Berkeley, California received an email threatening harm against its students if it did not fire Yvette Felarca, a teacher at the school who was caught on video violently attacking a protester and is an organizer with BAMN. In response, police increased security at the school and summer programs were moved to other locations.[23] Because Felarca's actions were committed off-hours, no action can be taken against her unless the police file charges against her, which they did.[17] Cate Cauguiran reported that the police and the California Highway Patrol were investigating a video of Felarca punching a protester.[24]
Both sides of the protest have claimed victory. The TWP considered the action a success because "six Antifas have been hospitalized in critical condition, with many more being treated for lesser injuries" while they "only suffered one significant casualty."[25] The counter-protesters considered it a success because they prevented the TWP from achieving their objective of holding a rally in Sacramento.[citation needed]
The Anti-Defamation League wrote that despite both sides claiming success, it is "the white supremacists who most benefit from the free publicity" generated by the violence.[27]
Genevieve Leigh, writing for the Trotskyists World Socialist Web Site, denounced the violence by counter-protesters. Leigh wrote that violence by small groups does not address the fundamental structural problems of a capitalist society and "ultimately play in the hands of the state."[28]
On June 30, representatives and community leaders across Sacramento held a unity conference at the Capitol to denounce the violence on Sunday. Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, said “what happened here on Sunday is the opposite of what Sacramento is about.” Richard Pan, a Senator for Sacramento's 6th District, said ”Many people come here to articulate different views and it's important people have the ability to do so but violence is not the answer to addressing those issues."[29]
As of July 19, 2017[update], one suspected neo-Nazi protester, William Scott Planer, and three counter-protesters were charged with crimes connected to the riot.[4] Felarca was one of those arrested, being charged with felony assault and misdemeanor rioting.[30] In 2019, the charges were dropped after she agreed to perform 90 hours of community service.[31] The same year, the jury deadlocked at Planer's trial on assault charges. In April 2019, he pleaded no contest to assault likely to produce great bodily harm and was sentenced to four years in prison. Planer was released immediately since he'd already served two years in the county jail.[32]
Unite the Right rally, another alt-right demonstration that turned violent with the NSM and TWP as one of the participants
Notes
^"After the first violent event, we revoked the permit for the event." — CHP Capitol spokesman[1]
^Photo caption: "Anti-fascist counter-protesters parade through Sacramento after multiple people were stabbed during a clash between neo-Nazis holding a permitted rally and counter-protesters on Sunday at the state capitol in Sacramento, California, United States, June 26, 2016." — Reuters/Max Whittaker[5]
^ abStanton, Sam (July 19, 2017). "One suspected neo-Nazi and three counter-demonstrators charged in Capitol riot". The Sacramento Bee. Prosecutors have arrested a total of four suspects in last year's riot at the state Capitol, one a suspected neo-Nazi who is also accused of defacing a Colorado synagogue and three anti-fascist counter-demonstrators, including a Berkeley middle school teacher.
^Debra Saunders (June 30, 2016). "Fascists against freedom, unite". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved July 1, 2016. Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-California, was downtown when he heard about the violence and went to the Capitol to see for himself. He saw counter-protesters ready for a fight. And for no reason. The neo-Nazis, he told me, 'were way outnumbered.' The counter-protesters could have yelled and drowned out the neo-Nazis, who then would have 'gone home.' But the counter-protesters had shown up 'ready for action.'
^Sam Stanton and Anita Chabria (June 27, 2016). "Police defend response to violent rally at California Capitol". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved July 6, 2016. He described it as a 'free-for-all.' 'The police didn't step in really at all,' Vellucci said. 'They basically just let people do what they wanted to do.' [...] 'It was like someone made a decision,' Vellucci said. 'In this case, someone made a decision just to let them fight it out, that's what it appeared.'
^"The Hate Group Behind the Sacramento White Supremacist Rally". ADL. June 28, 2016. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016. Both sides declared "success" after the fracas, but it is the white supremacist who most benefit from the free publicity that such violent generates.
^Genevieve Leigh (June 28, 2016). "Violent confrontation at Sacramento racist demonstration leaves 10 injured". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved July 6, 2016. A fight against openly fascistic groups like these, as well as radical right-wing tendencies seen in the 2016 US presidential campaign, cannot be achieved through the anarchistic groups that were apparently on scene in Sunday's conflict. Violent confrontations between small groups cannot address the fundamental social antagonisms in capitalist society and ultimately play into the hands of the state. The actions of isolated groups, devoid of a socialist political program or a concept of the class struggle, can never serve as a substitute for the collective struggle of the working class.
