Nazi's Hold Protest Near Cincinnati for White People after Black Teens Attack White Man

From [HERE] The brutal beating of a man by a group of young teenagers who said they did it because they were bored has shaken the Cincinnati suburb of North College Hill and drawn unwanted attention in the form of a group of self-described white separatists.

Five members of the National Alliance, considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be a neo-Nazi group, had a "solidarity" rally on a main thoroughfare of the small, quiet, blue-collar community two weeks after the beating on Friday, causing traffic jams and drawing dozens of counter-protesters who derided the small group and yelled at them to get out of their city. "Go away! Take your hate and leave!" screamed Audrey Able, a 37-year-old mother of four who has lived in the city for about 19 years. "That would make people in this little community of North College Hill very happy."

On Aug. 11, six black teenagers attacked and beat Pat Mahaney, who is white, as the 45-year-old was returning home with a six-pack of beer, North College Hill Police Chief Gary Foust said. Mahaney was attacked from behind and had done nothing to provoke it, Foust said, adding that police consider the attack a random act by the group of 13- and 14-year-olds, who said in separate interviews they were bored and looking for something to do.

Mahaney had extensive internal and external injuries, and was hospitalized for four days.

The teens, who are charged with felonious assault and aggravated rioting, had been scheduled for trial Friday but it was postponed; five of them are under house arrest and the sixth was in custody. A new date was not set.

Robert Ransdell, of Florence, Ky., the Cincinnati coordinator for the National Alliance, organized Friday's rally and called on white people to speak out about "hate-crime hypocrisy."

"They call me a racist, they call me a supremacist, and black people are called civil rights leaders," he shouted as four supporters stood quietly behind him, holding signs saying, "Diversity is not what it seems -- it is anti-white."

The atmosphere became tense at times, with Ransdell and his group exchanging heated words with counter-protesters, who were separated by two layers of police barricades and at least a dozen officers.

One man, 60-year-old Dwight Patton, of Avondale, was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge and released after the rally. Patton was among dozens yelling at Ransdell's group. It was unclear what prompted his arrest.

Some North College Hill residents tried to counteract Ransdell's rally with one of their own, framed around unity and diversity. They played blues music and handed out free hot dogs and water to dozens of residents about a half-mile from the other rally.

"All this attention is unfair," said Barbara Graves, a board member at North College Hills City Schools who went to both rallies. "We are a small community and we're getting a bad rap."

Graves said the beating "is not what North College Hill is about."

She said out of 1,500 students enrolled in the district's schools, just 600 went to school Friday, adding that parents were nervous about the National Alliance rally.

Pastor Zach Whittle, who organized the "unity" rally, said he wanted to take the attention away from Ransdell's demonstration.

"This crime does not define our community," he said. "We want to show what our community isreally about."

The beating and subsequent national attention prompted Foust, Mayor Dan Brooks and other city leaders to have a news conference Monday defending their city as a typical working-class community where a shocking but atypical crime occurred.

"We are shocked by what happened. We are disgusted. We are resolute," Brooks said. "This is not North College Hill. It is not emblematic of our schools, of our society and of our city."