Klu Klux Klan rally: Four stabbed as KKK members clash with counter protesters

The clashes took place a mile north of Dinseyland

Four people were stabbed at a KKK rally in Califorina (AP)

Four people were stabbed, and one of them critically wounded, on Saturday in a scuffle between members of the Ku Klux Klan and counter-protesters near a planned KKK rally.

Police in Anaheim, California, said that a total of thirteen people were arrested following the melee, including one Klan member who was accused of stabbing a counter-protester with a flagpole.

Several counter-protesters were taken into custody after stomping a KKK member on the ground, Anaheim Police Sergeant Daron Wyatt told Reuters.

Mr Wyatt said the altercation took place as soon as several Klan members arrived at the park about a mile north of Disneyland, for a planned rally there.

“As soon as they got out of their vehicle, immediately they were attacked by counter-protesters and this caused a melee down the block,” he said.

Mr Wyatt said four people were wounded in the ensuing confrontation. The person most seriously wounded was stabbed with a flagpole that had an American eagle finial at the top and taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

Several witnesses said that a peaceful counter-protest had been under way for about three hours when the Klansmen arrived in a black SUV.

The vehicle pulled up and three men got out and began to unload signs when the group of about 50 counter-protesters approached them, yelling and throwing sticks, witnesses said.

“Three people were stabbed by the fire hydrant,” witness, Darren Simpson told the news agency. “These Klan guys were fighting for their lives.”