Matt Hale Demo And Counterdemo - May 1 - Joliet

[FAB]

JOLIET — Demonstrators gathered on a street corner Saturday
afternoon and urged passing motorists to show support for Matt Hale,
an avowed white supremacist convicted of soliciting the murder of a
federal judge.

Meanwhile, across the street, bandana-clad anti-racists tried to
drown out their message.

"What do we want? White power," two dozen men and women from the
Joliet Creativity Movement yelled as they stood in the rain and
waved Confederate flags and protest signs reading, "The Church will
Remain," and, "Free Matt Hale."

"Stop hate," a larger group of demonstrators from the Joliet Anti-
Racist Action group yelled back.

Police, wearing bulletproof vests, stood in the center of the
street, directing traffic and keeping demonstrators from clashing.
Motorists drove by, honking car horns and yelling expletives at both
groups.

Down the street, about 12 police officers in riot gear stood ready
to move in if the confrontation escalated. Two more police officers
were visible on a nearby rooftop, and federal agents were said to be
in the area keeping tabs on the Hale supporters.

Joliet resident Brian Moudry initiated the demonstration to speak
out against the incarceration of Hale, the leader of the former
World Church of the Creator.

Hale was convicted Monday of soliciting the murder of a federal
judge because she ordered Hale's group to stop using the trademarked
name Church of the Creator. Hale faces up to 50 years in prison.

Joining Moudry's protest was a Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from
Indiana, Ray Larsen.

"The World Church of the Creator is not dead," Moudry said. "We will
continue. ... We're here to carry on his legacy."

No fisticuffs broke out between the two groups during Saturday's 90-
minute demonstration, but police found a baseball bat in a bush on
one of the street corners. Officers took it away.

The groups assembled at Larkin Avenue and Jefferson Street, and
onlookers gathered to watch.

Words were the only weapons used, both by the demonstrators and the
passing motorists.

"You're all going to hell," one motorist yelled at Moudry's group.

Another made a kissy-face and an obscene gesture at the anti-racist
group as she turned the corner. Others circled the block several
times to make sure their message was heard.

"Damn, we're on the wrong side," a black motorist could be heard
saying as his car drove past the anti-racist group instead of the
white supremacists.

The honking horns, hand gestures and expletives only made the two
groups raise their voices even louder.

Members of the Joliet Anti-Racist Action group that gathered to
counter Larsen and Moudry's message offered no opinion about Hale or
his conviction for trying to solicit the murder of a federal judge.

"It's hard to know what to think about it," said one Anti-Racist
Action member who declined to be named for fear of being targeted by
Hale's supporters. He, like many other group members, wore a bandana
over his nose and mouth so members of the white supremacist group
couldn't identify him for retaliation in the future.

"They put our photos on their Web site and post our addresses,"
explained another masked demonstrator.

Moudry later laughed at the assertion and accused the anti-racist
group of being the aggressors.

"I've had rocks thrown at me; I've had human feces thrown at me," he
said. "That goes to show their mentality."

Police halted the demonstration by 2:30 p.m., saying traffic was
backing up in the area.

The white supremacists left quietly in their vans while the anti-
racists marched down Jefferson Street to Moudry's house, where they
continued to demonstrate.

No arrests were reported. Police said they planned to monitor
several "hot spots" throughout the evening.

[truthaddict11]

I could have gone if I knew about the counter demo before hand

[Organic Revolution]

i was there.... bloody good protest

[truthaddict11]

do you live in the chicago area?

[Xvall]

Hey. I'm in the Chicago Area.

[Organic Revolution]

yeah i live in chicago. truth do u live in chicago? if so where... and rake where do u live in chicago

[truthaddict11]

i live in the suburbs, in Elgin

[refuse_resist]

Right on guys. Keep up the good work and let those Nazis know we're not gonna take their crap. I still don't understand why so many people think it's cool being a Nazi, they should have learned their lesson when Hitler got his ass kicked.

Back in the city I used to live in which is a really small town here in CA the KKK used to have demonstrations in the downtown area, but then eventually people got sick of them and chased them out of the city. Most of them are gone, but unfortunatley some still remain.

[DaCuBaN]

i live in the suburbs, in Elgin

and where would that be... Chicago? named after a teeny wee scots village

[bayano]

Chicago has problems these days. our anti-racist action, anarchist skins and punks, midwest unrest and other militant antifa groups have died out with random anitifa militants scattered and divided. meanwhile, every group from protest warrior to white patriot street gangs (e.g. 77s, Chicago Mafia Skins, who roam in larger numbers and occasionally threaten puertorriqueno and leftist parties) have increased their ranks and boldness.

and those antifa militants that are left arent very politically sound, some are anarcho-thugs with no theory/political framework, most dont know the origins of antifa (that they were originally marxists and leninists). and many of them challenge EACH OTHER, rather than keeping their eyes on the real common enemies. sad sad day, i tell u.

[Red Sky Revolution]

I live by Pekin{where he was from and where he is in prison}. Its stupid that they put him in jail in Pekin. They should of put him in jail somewhere like Chicago. There are no black people in Pekin. All of Pekin is rascist. They need to put him some where with alot of black people so they can kill him. Seriously. Shows how stupid our legal system is.