Protected by Trump, white supremacists marched freely at US Independence Day celebrations

250th anniversary celebration of US independence becomes 'culture war'
In the last century, they paraded in pointy hoods and long white robes to spread racial hatred and, at the same time, keep their identity secret.
In the modern version of the Ku Klux Klan, the activists wear white masks, sunglasses and baseball caps, as shown on Saturday (4) by hundreds of white supremacists, from the Patriotic Front militia, during the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Independence of the USA.
The difference is that they are welcomed by MAGA, the movement that supports President Donald Trump.
They marched freely through Washington, waving Confederate flags or flying them upside down, and shouting "Take Back America!" and "Life, Freedom, Victory".
Created in 2017 in Texas by activist Thomas Rousseau - who led the march -, the Patriotic Front is one of the main supremacist groups in the country and advocates transforming the USA into a white ethnic state, preserving its European origin.
Concepts such as multiculturalism, immigration and diversity are seen as threats to their vision of the nation. The group also propagates the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which invokes the existence of a Democratic plot to replace white voters with immigrants of other races.
Anyone who saw the parade of masked men in beige pants and navy blue shirts through the Washington subway was left disturbed by the scenes that reflect the country's extreme polarization.
A passenger on the Washington subway surrounded by members of the Patriot Front, a supremacist group, on July 4, 2026
Cheney Orr/Reuters
An image by Reuters photographer Cheney Orr portrayed an apprehensive black woman surrounded by dozens of supremacists on a subway bench. It quickly went viral for recalling the scene experienced by activist Rosa Parks, during the period of racial segregation.
"I think this woman's photo will be a defining image of this moment in the US for a long, long time", summarized Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the NGO Campaign for New York Health, in peaceful, killing one woman and injuring dozens. The president stirred up tempers by stating that there were "very good people on both sides".
In one of his first acts, upon assuming his second term, Trump pardoned 1,600 supporters convicted of the attack on the Capitol in January 2021, including leaders and members of the neo-fascist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
This government support fits in with the way in which the Patriotic Front militia reappeared and it circulated freely in Washington during Independence Day celebrations.
But the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgun, preferred to downplay the overt presence of the uniformed militia on the streets of Washington, citing the principle of freedom of expression, "even though this makes democracy imperfect." Patriotic Front.
By the secretary's logic, white supremacists and people "who say reprehensible things" about President Trump are equivalent and are therefore protected by free speech.

Source: G1