If you fuck around in Philadelphia, you will quickly find out. That’s what a white supremacists group, trucked all the way from Texas to the nation’s birthplace on the eve of July 4, learned after their group of 200ish haters were quickly turned back by under a dozen Philadelphians.
(Update Tuesday July 6, 2021 5:15 p.m. - Penske truck rental posted a statement on its Twitter on the July 4 condemning the use of its trucks in the demonstration)
We’ve all heard people on the extreme right wing refer to the “coastal elite” like everyone on the coasts are weaklings ready to be rolled over, but anyone who has spent time in those cities knows it takes a special kind of grit to make it in those towns. I mean, Philadelphia celebrated a Super Bowl win by holding a riot. They killed hitchbot! Their deranged hockey team mascot Gritty has become a national symbol of the wild-eyed, unpredictable chaos we’re all living through, especially to leftists. All signs point to leaving Philly the hell alone.
So when about 200 members of the hate group Patriot Front marched through town with their faces covered, and wearing matching sad khaki cargo pants (now we know who is actually buying those!) the people of Philadelphia were not going to put up with it. From NBC Philadelphia:
Philadelphia police said the Patriot Front members chanted “Reclaim America,” and “The election was stolen,” as they marched.
A few people could be seen engaging in minor pushing and shoving with members of the group and police said several physical confrontations took place. An NBC10 photographer had his cellphone taken from him by members of the group, before recovering it.
Police also said members of Patriot Front used what they believed to be smoke bombs to cover their retreat as they fled.
Patriot Front is categorized as a white supremacy group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Fortunately, their march was cut short the moment they began to receive pushback from Philadelphia residents. The fascists threw smoke bombs to cover their retreat as residents pushed and punched the interlopers. Police seem to have just watched as residents and protesters traded blows, according to 6 ABC News.
Philly residents chased them all back to a fleet of Penske rental trucks that the of Wal-Mart brand Brown Shirts had come in on:
Police said some of the angry onlookers scared off the white supremacists.
“They started engaging with citizens of Philadelphia, who were none too happy about what they were saying. These males felt threatened, and, at one point, somebody in their crowd threw a type of smoke bomb to cover their retreat, and they literally ran away from the people of Philadelphia,” said Philadelphia Police Officer Michael Crum.
No injuries or arrests were reported. Footage of the event is both heartwarming and hilarious. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a fantastic spread of photos shot of the event, showing these Best Buy-employee wannabes trying to intimidate good people just trying to enjoy Independence Day. The tweets of video from the event are also extremely good:
Let the word spread forth to all the other sad members of the Y’All Qaeda movement: Don’t fuck with Philly.