Stone Mountain Protests Clash as Pro-Whites, Anti-Racists Both Arrested

Stone Mountain protests staged Saturday in Georgia resulted in the arrest of both "pro-white" demonstrators and anti-Ku Klux Klan demonstrators.

The tension began when one group called Rock Stone Mountain scheduled a rally at the park to "protest efforts to erase the white race," according to WXIA-TV. An opposing group named All Out Atlanta, an anti-racism, group, held its rally at the same time there.

Authorities said that attempts to keep the groups apart from each other failed just hours into their events.

Eight people who were part of the All Out Atlanta group and one person from the Rock Stone Mountain group were arrested, according to CNN.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that some All Out Atlanta protesters went onto the park's wooded trails in an effort to confront the Rock Stone Mountain group, ratcheting up tensions.

"The situation grew tense for several hours," stated the newspaper. "A barricade was set ablaze, rocks and fireworks were hurled at police officers working to keep the warring factions apart. Park officials canceled the popular laser show and shut down the cable car and amusement area as the situation escalated in the early afternoon."

Police in riot gear appeared to outnumber the two protesting groups and tensions seemed to decline after the arrests, CNN reported. The network stated that both groups began to leave the park around 2 p.m.

Some Rock Stone Mountain attendees distanced themselves from the Klan. John Estes, the organizer of the rally, said its members had no specific affiliation other than being concerned about the "future of the white race."

The All Out Atlanta counter-demonstrators, though, carried anti-Klan signs and some wrapped themselves in the Confederate flag, stated CNN.

Stone Mountain Park and its carvings of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson has been a flashpoint in a wider public dialogue over Confederate monuments since last year, The Guardian reported.

The NAACP has stated that it wants monuments to Davis, Lee, and Jackson removed, along with streets named after them.

Related Stories:

New Orleans Confederate Monuments Can Go, Rules Judge
Jefferson Davis Statue Defaced as UT Students Rally to Have it Removed