Three people were stabbed after a planned “walking protest” involving the Ku Klux Klan turned violent when they clashed with protesters at an Anaheim park on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A KKK event had been scheduled to be held at Pearson Park, located at 400 North Harbour Boulevard, at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the Anaheim Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Police later received information that people protesting the walk would also be present, prompting them to issue a traffic advisory in the area around the park between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., a separate Facebook post stated.
While the event was expected to be attended by a small number of people representing the infamous white supremacist group, several dozen protesters showed up to the park by 11 a.m., according to the Times. Some carried signs, including one that read “Fight back against KKK,” a photo taken from the protest site showed.
Roughly an hour later, several men clad in black pants and shirts with Confederate flag patches on the sleeves arrived at the park; they were then taken to the edge of the property by police, the Times reported.
Later, things started to turn violent when witnesses observed some counter-protesters kicking a man with a shirt that read “Grand Dragon,” according to the newspaper.
A confrontation ensued between one apparent KKK member and a male counter-protester, who collapsed to the ground and cried out that he had been stabbed, the Times reported.
A photograph taken by a reporter at the scene showed the victim, his dark-colored shirt hiked up, holding what appeared to be some tissue or gauze over the right side of his chest. Blood was visible on his clothing and on the ground next to where he was being treated for his wound.
The Klansman, in handcuffs, was overheard telling police that “he stabbed him in self-defense,” according to the Times. Multiple witnesses told the reporter that the victim was stabbed with a flagpole, but they were unsure if it was an American or Confederate flag.
Two other people were stabbed, including one other protester, authorities told the Times. One person was critically wounded, while the other two were in stable condition.
Thirteen arrests were made in the wake of the violent incident, the paper reported.
Calls to Anaheim police by KTLA were not immediately returned, and, Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt only confirmed in an emailed statement that an “incident” had taken place at the park.
More information was expected to be released in the afternoon at a news briefing.
In the past few years, the KKK has held similar rallies in Orange County, with members typically passing out literature and holding up signs.
“While controversial,” the demonstrations “are protected by the First Amendment,” police wrote in the Facebook post.
They also said it was not uncommon for the group to place literature in yards and driveways at homes in surrounding areas before or after an event, something that police said was legal.
Back in July 2014, fliers for the Loyal White Knights of the KKK were delivered to homes in the city of Orange in an area south of Angel Stadium, residents said at the time.
The fliers stated “Save Our Land Join the Klan,” and provided a phone number, website and P.O. Box address in Pelham, North Carolina.
The Orange Police Department acknowledged receiving phone calls about the fliers, but had declined to respond because a crime had not been committed.
KTLA’s Ashley Soley-Cerro contributed to this report.
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