‘It will never be tolerated’: NAACP, mayor condemn group that marched through downtown Louisville as white supremacist

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The Louisville branch of the NAACP and Mayor Craig Greenberg are speaking out against what they called a white supremacist march that took place in downtown Louisville Saturday afternoon.

Video sent into WAVE News shows a group of people waving variations of the American flag and Confederate flag, holding what appear to be riot shields, marching through downtown streets.

When asked, Louisville police said while the demonstration was understandably concerning, “no unlawful activity was observed, and no intervention was required on our part.”

The NAACP on Sunday spoke out against the demonstration and said it was apparently held without a permit in violation of city code.

“Words are not strong enough. For decades, the NAACP has been dedicated to fighting against racial hatred and division fomented by groups like this,” said Raymond Burse, president of the Louisville NAACP. “It’s unfortunate that this group felt comfortable enough to display its venom and ignorance on a Louisville city street. It will never be tolerated.”

A spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Office of Special Events said in a statement that the group did not have a permit and elaborated on when permits are needed and what was seen in the video.

“There would be conditions under which they would not need one when expressing their First Amendment rights to free speech and the right to assembly. However, if their assembly does not obey all traffic and other laws, and interferes with the free flow of traffic and pedestrians, then a permit is required,” Assistant Director of the Office of Special Events Doug Sweeny said. “From what I could see in the video shown by your station, they were in fact interfering illegally with traffic.  It appeared they were still crossing the street en masse after the traffic light had changed to green for traffic heading east on Liberty Street, crossing S 7th."

Burse told WAVE News he would like to see other leaders and businesses speaking out as well.

“I guess what I would ask for is for every organization, every business, every elected official in our city to make a public statement condemning what has taken place to signify that, as a community, across all those groups, we’re unified and not wanting or accepting what took place yesterday,” he added.

On Saturday, Mayor Greenberg took to social media to condemn the group as well.

“Earlier today, a white supremacist group briefly marched downtown. I strongly condemn this group, their message and their activity. While the rest of our city is celebrating our country’s freedoms this weekend, they are focused on hate and have no place in our city or anywhere else,” Greenberg said.