Ku Klux Klan In California: Violence Erupts At KKK Rally, Four Stabbed

UPDATE: 6:45 p.m. EDT--Four people were stabbed at the rally, and one was critically wounded, according to Reuters. Thirteen people were arrested, including one who police said was accused of stabbing a counterprotester with a flagpole.

Original story:

A California Ku Klux Klan rally escalated to violence Saturday, ending with one Klansman and two anti-KKK protesters stabbed, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At about 11 a.m. PST, dozens of people planning to protest a scheduled 1:30 p.m. KKK rally showed up at Pearson Park in Anaheim where the rally was scheduled to be held. Klansmen showed up about an hour later, wearing black clothes with Confederate flags sewn on them.

After protesters were seen kicking a man wearing a shirt that read “grand dragon,” one protester fell to the ground, bleeding and saying he had been stabbed. A Klansman allegedly used the tip of a flagpole to fight with protesters.

A Klansman in handcuffs reportedly yelled he had stabbed the man in “self-defense.” Police said ahead of time via Twitter they were aware of the protest, but some questioned why more officers were not on hand.

“I wouldn’t want to take my kids to the park to play soccer if I knew people were going to be engaged in this kind of behavior on this day,” Anaheim Sgt. Daron Wyatt told the LA Times before the rally. “So if you don’t need to be there, don’t go there.”

Three people were detained. No information on the conditions of those injured was available as of Saturday afternoon.

Anaheim has a history of KKK activity. In the 1920s four of five City Council seats were occupied by openly affiliated KKK members before a recall led to them vacating their seats, the LA Times reported. The group’s activity has since fallen off, but some members are still active. About 100 residents in the area found KKK fliers and candy in their driveways last summer.