news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Greensboro police are preparing for the possibility that a meeting of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement could be held in the city later this month.

The NSM, a group which describes itself as “defending the rights of white people everywhere,” is planning its Southeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional meeting on Aug. 29, according to the group’s Web site.

However, an exact location for the meeting has not been announced. Greensboro police are acting on intelligence that the event could occur here.

“This is a political action committee that might be coming,” said Capt. Janice Rogers of the Greensboro Police Department.

“(If it happens) we are going to provide enough manpower to ensure that all parties involved are guaranteed safety for them and anyone who may counter protest.”

A page dedicated to the event on the group’s Web site indicates the group is planning an event to last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with training, speeches and seminars.

The page states the group’s leader Jeff Schoeop will attend along with other speakers.

“This is a business meeting and a non-uniformed event,” the Web site says. “Attire is business casual.”

The Detroit-based group, founded in 1974, says it is open to “non-Semitic heterosexuals of European descent” and has core beliefs to “preserve European culture and heritage, strengthening family values, economic self-sufficiency and reform of illegal immigration policies.”

The Anti-Defamation League describes the group as the largest neo-Nazi faction in the United States and states it has affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads and other neo-Nazi organizations.

A spokesman for the group did not return a message seeking comment Saturday afternoon.

If the event happens, it will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Nov. 3 1979 Klan-Nazi shootings.

The shootings happened during a “Death to the Klan” march through the Morningside Homes public housing complex.

A group of Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis confronted marchers. A torrent of gunshots ensued.

Five marchers died and 10 were injured in the chaos, which was captured by television cameras.

No one was convicted in two criminal trials, although a jury found two Greensboro police officers and others liable in a civil trial. The city ultimately paid a $351,000 judgment to the family of one of the protesters.

City Council recently adopted a statement of regret regarding the matter.

Mayor Yvonne Johnson said that though she prefers that the NSM event would take place elsewhere, the city remains commited to protecting the rights of all citizens.

“One thing about being in America and having freedom is that you have to be tolerant,” Johnson said.

“You might not agree with someone’s politics or ideology, but they are free to do it. They should have the protection they need to carry out whatever they do, as long as it’s legal.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com