By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

During public comments at Springfield’s Aug. 27 city commission meeting, Mayor Rob Rue cut off and ejected a man who identified himself as the leader of the neo-Nazi Blood Tribe group that marched with rifles in Springfield on Aug. 10.

The Blood Tribe member, who provided a variation of a racial epithet in place of his real name, had spoken for almost a minute when he told the mayor, “I’ve come to bring a word of warning. Stop what you’re doing, before it’s too late. Crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in.”

The mayor then cut him off. “Thank you,” Rue said. “You sound threatening to me.”

As the neo-Nazi attempted to talk over Rue, the mayor asked police to remove him from the meeting peacefully. “You’re done,” the mayor added. The speaker then left the meeting.

After Rue and the commission heard comments from the next speaker, the mayor explained to those present why he had the Blood Tribe member ejected.

“In our guidelines, the moment you begin to sound threatening, that’s when we say, that’s enough. It’s not free speech. That’s a threat. I just want to make that clear.”

The public comments component of the city commission meeting was heated before the neo-Nazi spoke.

With a time limit of three minutes each, Springfield residents shared their frustrations stemming from the burgeoning population of legal Haitian immigrants who now live in the city. Others denounced racism and expressed support for welcoming and helping the immigrants. Some expressed both frustration and support.

When it was the neo-Nazi’s turn to speak, he approached one of the podiums wearing Blood Tribe’s colors, red and black. He identified himself as “of Blood Tribe.”

“I was at the head of the anti-Haitian immigration march earlier this month,” he said. “I’m sure the Hon. Mr. Rob Rue recognizes me, considering he supposedly knew of our action before we even arrived.”

In at least one interview, with the Columbus Jewish News, Rue indicated he knew in advance about the Blood Tribe’s planned Aug. 10 march. According to the article, the mayor “didn’t want to take too many preemptive steps in fear of a larger presence or reaction from the outside group.”

Both The Dayton Jewish Observer and Columbus Jewish News interviewed an eyewitness to the Aug. 10 march who said that when police were not watching the dozen Blood Tribe marchers, four of them aimed their rifles at her family in their car and at two cars in front of them as the four shouted, “Go the f— back to Africa!”

Springfield’s police chief, Allison Elliott, has declined to comment on the incident.

Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Kelly Fishman told The Observer that over the last year, ADL’s Center on Extremism has documented more than 260 incidents across the United States in which public forums were disrupted by antisemitic speech and other trolling and harassment efforts.

“Threats to these civic spaces and harassment of community officials undermine and jeopardize American democratic foundations,” Fishman noted. “Increasingly, public officials are targeted with intimidation and threats of violence, driving some out of local office. These actions make public forums feel unsafe, keep public servants from doing their work, and may prevent some candidates from running for office.”