Washington, D.C. — Hundreds of masked Patriot Front members marched through Washington, D.C., on July Fourth as the country marked its 250th anniversary, drawing attention to an actual extremist movement while President Donald Trump spent the holiday warning about a supposed communist threat.
The group gathered near Union Station and marched toward Capitol Hill carrying banners, including a Confederate flag, according to The Guardian and Reuters images from the event. Video from local reporters showed members chanting “Life, liberty, victory” and “Reclaim America.” Reuters also photographed Patriot Front members riding the Metro as other passengers looked on.
Patriot Front is widely described by civil rights and extremism researchers as a white supremacist and neo-fascist organization. The group formed after the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counterprotester was killed.
D.C. police told Politico they were monitoring First Amendment activity and working to maintain public safety. Counterprotesters also confronted the group during the march.
The demonstration offered a stark contrast to Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech, where he framed communism as America’s greatest domestic threat. In reality, organized white nationalist groups have a clearer, documented public presence in the United States than any meaningful communist movement.
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