Nazi website Daily Stormer urged followers to target black and Jewish centres during Richard Spencer's speech
'The point is to confuse the situation and to create public attention, to make it feel like the entire city is taken over by our guys'
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A neo-Nazi website has encouraged its followers to protest at Black and Jewish community centres during white supremacist Richard Spencer’s speech.
The Daily Stormer posted a “Stormer Plan for Richard Spencer’s Florida Gig” on the morning of Mr Spencer’s speech at the University of Florida. Mr Spencer is a self-proclaimed white nationalist who was recently scheduled to speak at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
For his first major speech since Charlottesville, Mr Spencer booked a lecture space at the University of Florida – despite resistance from students, staff, and the university itself.
The Daily Stormer – which was kicked off of Facebook, Twitter, and even its website server after Charlottesville – urged its followers to attend the speech. Those who did not secure tickets, however, were encouraged to stage “flash demos” at locations around the city.
Andrew Anglin, the Daily Stormer founder, suggested protesting at the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Center and the Institute of Black Culture. He also suggested the offices of the Gainesville Sun, a local paper, and a neighbouring Starbucks.
Violence on the streets of Charlottesville
Show all 9If the suggested locations were patrolled by police, Mr Anglin suggested that protesters find other locations for their demonstrations – including statues of “historically great white men”.
The objective, according to Mr Anglin, was to protest “Jews, black crime, Jewish media, Jewish coffee – whatever”. Suggested chants included “Jews will not replace us” and “Shlomo go home”.
“The point is to confuse the situation and to create public attention, to make it feel like the entire city is taken over by our guys,” Mr Anglin wrote.
The Institute of Black Culture was closed on Thursday, and the Gainesville Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. But the director of the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Center, Rabbi Berl Goldman, said he was “well aware” of the protest plans.
Mr Goldman said the centre had stepped up its security measures in recent days, but planned to stay open during Mr Spencer’s speech. In fact, the centre announced extended hours for Thursday.
“We want to give the Jewish student community here a sense of safe haven and community,” Mr Goldmann said.
Mr Spencer's speech turned out to be sparsely attended, with video feeds showing the theatre about half full. The majority of the speech was drowned out by protesters, who chanted “F*** you Spencer!” and “Spencer go home!”
Mr Spencer left quietly after speaking for approximately an hour and a half.
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