Three people were stabbed during a Ku Klux Klan rally in Anaheim, California, report Reuters and The Los Angeles Times.
On Saturday, a group of Klansmen wearing black clothing with Confederate flag patches held a rally while escorted by police, the LA Times reports.
Dozens of counterprotesters at the Pearson Park rally met the hate group head-on, and the encounter quickly got violent.
One Klansman was taken into custody by police after stabbing a man with the point of a flagpole, witnesses told reporter James Queally.
Photos taken at the scene show a man lying down on bloody sidewalk.
Two other people were stabbed in the incident, Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim Police Department told the Times. At least one person is listed in critical condition. Four people were arrested, including one KKK member who claimed the stabbing was in “self defense,” Reuters reported.
At one point, a group of counterprotesters swarmed a man wearing a Grand Dragon shirt and began to kick and stomp him.
Brian Levin, the director of CSU San Bernardino’s Center for the study of hate and extremism, told the Times he was able to push the Klan leader out of the way.
Anaheim has a sordid history with the KKK, according to the Times:
The Klan has a long and troubling history with the city. Klansmen were once the dominant political force in Anaheim, holding four of five City Council seats before a recall effort led to their ouster in 1924.
At the height of the group’s power in Orange County, nearly 300 Klansmen lived in Anaheim, patrolling city streets in robes and masks. A large KKK rally once attracted 20,000 people to the city.
A phone call to the Anaheim Police Department was not immediately returned.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
