Dozens gathered in Glendale Wednesday night to hold a vigil after the revelation a man living in the community was part of a recent neo-Nazi march in Arkansas.
Little Rock Police cited 23 members of the group Blood Tribe for riding in the back of a U-Haul truck after a Dec. 6 rally in the city. According to local media reports, marchers gathered at the state capitol, displayed swastikas and chanted "white power" as they marched through city neighborhoods.
After police issued the citations, the members' names became public. One of the people on the list was Keith Elflein, who has lived in Glendale since 2021. Several other members of the group also live in the region.
Elflein issued a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer in which he said he was simply exercising his First Amendment rights out of concern for his family when he participated in the Arkansas hate rally.
Attendees at the Wednesday vigil said they were dismayed to find out someone living in Glendale marched with a neo-Nazi group.
Jennifer Meyer-Reynolds lives very close to Elflein and helped organize the event. She said she hadn't had much contact with her neighbor, but never dreamed he would partake in a neo-Nazi rally.
"I'm always shocked anytime anybody has these beliefs, in this year, wherever," she said. "But to know they were right across the street from you and you had no idea?"
Lifelong Glendale resident Brenda Daniels was also at the vigil. She emphasized she wanted the event to counter Blood Tribe's hateful message with one of peace and unity.
"To think that we might have someone living here that's divisive? We don't want that," she said. "So it's a stand against divisiveness and for togetherness."
Many from neighboring communities also showed up. Lincoln Heights Village Council member Daronce Daniels was among them. He said members of his community were more than willing to show solidarity after a neo-Nazi rally took place near Lincoln Heights earlier this year.
It's unclear if the rally in Lincoln Heights had any connection to Blood Tribe. The neo-Nazi group founded in 2020 by a man named Christopher Pohlhaus espouses white supremacist beliefs and has held a number of events in Ohio cities like Springfield and Columbus. Members generally dress in red and black, carry swastika flags and display weapons.
There is limited verified information about most of the group members involved in the Lincoln Heights rally. Law enforcement here did not cite them. Daniels pointed out they were also riding in a U-Haul and should have been ticketed for that. Despite frustration with local law enforcement response to the incident, Daniels said he was heartened by Glendale's response to revelations of Elflein's activities.
"Obviously the residents of Lincoln Heights definitely don't stand for any of that," he said. "If there's another community that wants to show support and show that neo-Nazis coming into communities are wrong, we'll definitely stand by that."
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