After No-Show, White Nationalists Form 'Human Swastika' In Park

CHAPEL HILL, TN — After no-showing their own rally in Murfreesboro, the "White Lives Matter" ralliers briefly met up in a secluded Tennessee state park and formed a "human swastika" as a police helicopter flew by.

Claiming that Murfreesboro was a "lawsuit trap," the march — organized by the National Front, a loose confederation of white supremacist and white nationalist groups that were heavily involved in August's deadly Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. — was cancelled in the Bucket City, likely costing the city and Rutherford County tens of thousands of dollars in overtime for law enforcement and lost revenue for businesses on the city's square.

The group then relocated to Henry Horton State Park, just outside the town of Chapel Hill, about 45 minutes west and home of slave trader, Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest.

They stayed at the park for about a half hour, according to the Chapel Hill Fire Department, ate lunch and formed a "human swastika" when they were overflown by a police helicopter.

In both Murfreesboro and Shelbyville — where "White Lives Matter" rallied earlier Saturday — counter-protesters vastly out-numbered the white nationalists. Though heated at times, the events were largely non-violent. There was one arrest in Shelbyville. Middle Tennessee State University student Jack Anderson, 20, was cited for disorderly conduct. He told Fox 17 he was a counter-protester who ended up mixed in with the white nationalists and was put into a headlock and told his alleged attacker to "get off." He said law enforcement were mistaken in their assessment of the incident.

Photo by J.R. Lind, Patch staff