WATCH: Nazis Terrorize Reading of Communist Manifesto at Local New England Book Store
A reading of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto was interrupted by a crowd carrying a swastika flag.
The reading took place at Red Ink Community Library in Providence, Rhode Island, on Monday, which marked the 174th anniversary of the publication of the infamous work.
A video of the attackers was captured from inside the book store and posted on Twitter:
Beginning at the 42:12 mark in the library’s Facebook livestream of the event, outside banging can be heard, soon followed by yelling that included profanity.
“That was exciting,” said a woman who was reading aloud from the book. She tried to resume but paused for a few moments before continuing.
As she spoke a man got up and walked out of the frame apparently toward the front of the store as the demonstrators continued interrupting. The reader briefly paused before resuming. The man returned as the woman spoke for a couple more moments before pausing and leaving the microphone.
Another man approached the microphone and said, “Thank you everybody for joining us. Fifty Nazis just descended outside, so we’re going to finish this with a discussion afterward.” The Providence Journal reported that it was “15 to 20 people.” The man proceeds to read aloud the ending of The Communist Manifesto: “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world unite.”
Red Ink Community Library posted a thread on Twitter:
We held a peaceful celebration of the Communist Manifesto tonight for 45 minutes, until it was interrupted by a crowd of fascists and Nazis. They showed up on our sidewalk, banged on our glass windows, shouted horrible slurs, and attempted to assault our members. As they outnumbered us at maybe 10:1, there was little we could do other than tell them to go home and try to stay safe indoors.
Their disruption did not go unnoticed. Several community members yelled at the fascists to go home, joining our condemnation of this despicable display. The Nazis continued to put on their show until Providence Police asked them to leave. While we didn’t ask for help from the police, it was only the threat of state violence that ended this disruption. While we knew of and wanted to highlight the relevance and importance of the Manifesto today, we did not want it to be so stark, so ugly.
The party reportedly behind the demonstration, the Nationalist Social Club is, according to the Anti-Defamation League, “a neo-Nazi group with small, autonomous regional chapters in the United States and abroad” and “see themselves as soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race.”
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee condemned the demonstration.
“There is no place for hate in our communities or state. The video showing a group waving Nazi flags last night in PVD is unacceptable and disgusting. I stand with those condemning last night’s acts. If you have information related to this incident, please contact [Providence Police],” he tweeted.
There is no place for hate in our communities or state. The video showing a group waving Nazi flags last night in PVD is unacceptable and disgusting. I stand with those condemning last night’s acts. If you have information related to this incident, please contact @ProvidenceRIPD.
— Governor Dan McKee (@GovDanMcKee) February 22, 2022
Watch above.
