JENA – A series of racially charged comments infiltrated Jena on Monday morning as groups gathered to protest Martin Luther King Day and the Jena 6. Members of the Nationalist Movement, a white supremacist group based in Mississippi, assembled Monday on the LaSalle Parish Courthouse lawn. Led by Richard Barrett, Nationalist Movement leader, the group rallied for “Jena Justice Day” to protest the Jena 6 and the celebration of slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Barrett proclaimed he would ideally like to see the American people vote down what he called “kingism” like they voted down communism. He said he does not worry about offending people because he feels democracy is offensive to tyranny. “We’ve heard too much of the chocolate cities and of the black power,” Barrett said. “We’re going to use the lungs of liberty.” The Nationalist Movement received permission to hold the rally in January after winning a lawsuit challenging a Jena city ordinance and the city’s mayor, Murphy McMillan. The ordinance stipulated rallying groups pay a $10,000 bond for potential damages during the rally. On Jan. 11, U.S. District Judge Dee Drell ruled the ordinance’s bond requirement unconstitutional on the grounds that it hindered opportunities for less affluent groups to express their views. Additionally, the court ruling upended the ordinance provision preventing participants from carrying guns. With this ruling, the Louisiana State Police Department secured the site with nearly 100 state and city police officers patrolling the area. Jena resident Dennis Kees was not armed with a concealed weapon, but he did bring something else with him to the rally. Kees strolled slowly along the gravel pavement in front of the courthouse clutching a long, brown piece of rope tied into a noose. When questioned by numerous observers, Kees humorously repeated it was not a noose, but a leash for his pet dog he presumed went back home. “I’m carrying it as a joke because I think it’s hilarious,” Kees said. “Who decided to associate a piece of rope with black people? I’ve never seen a black man getting hung.” The second time Kees appeared in front of the courthouse, he was not alone. The rope he held was used to walk his dog – a pet chihuahua. But counterprotesters did not see the humor. Gabe Haulshildt, University alumni, journeyed to Jena to protest the general bigotry and ignorance of the demonstration. He said he viewed the Nationalist Movement as a disgrace and an ignorant expression of intolerance. “I think these are the type of people that are ruining our country and have been since the 1800s, and it really makes me sick,” Haulshildt said. “I wish we could do more in Baton Rouge to fight white supremacists and the prejudice that is so prevalent in the United States, especially in Louisiana.” Members of the Bayou Knights organization of the Ku Klux Klan waved Confederate flags and Ku Klux Klan flags to support the Nationalist Movement. West Monroe resident Michael Brown held his Confederate flag over his right shoulder to rally support for the Bayou Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He said he feels his era has singled out white people. “I hope to accomplish a little bit more unity, unity amongst the white people,” Brown said. “I do not support the Martin Luther King holiday. This is a James Earl Ray day.” Police defined the organized Nationalist Movement group as the protesters and those in opposition as the counterprotesters. But before either group began their two-block radius march, Mark Smith, contract support for LaSalle City Sheriff Office, alerted the crowd of a clear threat of weapons. He asked counterprotesters to rally behind the courthouse and said failure to cooperate would result in arrest. “It is reported that men here in the crowd do have weapons on them,” Smith said. “Unless they are lawfully permitted by the state of Louisiana, they are not permitted to carry concealed weapons.”
After addressing the crowd, Smith said it is a shame to mark the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. with violence. Shortly after, chants from behind the courthouse amplified as counterprotesters filed down the street shouting “No more nooses, we want justice” and “We’ve got your back, Jena 6.” Chelsea Rainwater, creative writing junior, said she drove to Jena with a group of friends to counter the Nationalist Movement. She said she thinks racial equality is worth fighting for. Despite armed protesters surrounding the courthouse, violence did not penetrate the thick layer of tension until eight members of the New Black Panther Party completed their march through the town.
When members of the party refused to comply with police officer requests to retreat, officers swarmed the resistance group to push them off the courthouse lawn. As Barrett began his speech, the majority of the crowd diverted their attention to the arrest of one member of the New Black Panther Party for aggressive resistance to an officer. Barrett said his message was clear – “No to King, no to the Jena 6, up with America and up with freedom.” He said if King had been put in jail, the town would not have had the Jena 6 today. “I liked the way they chased them out with the dogs and police,” he said. “That’s the way they should’ve chased them out. Of course if they chased them back to the ’60s we wouldn’t have all this trouble today.” Pogo Reese, Mississippi lobbyist, said said while everybody has the right to an opinion, they should not use violence as a response to certain circumstances. “King would not have agreed with what those six young men did,” Reese said. “But we all have to realize that we all must live and get along.”
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]