Police Use Tear Gas on Klan Protesters

Police in riot gear used tear gas on anti-klan demonstrators who broke through a fence and tossed bottles and rocks in an attempt to disrupt a Ku Klux Klan rally in Ann Arbor. At least five people were treated for minor injuries, but no arrests were made. Hoping to avoid the violence of a similar 1996 klan rally, the city set up a separate fenced area for the klan, outfitted police with gas masks and hand-held metal detectors, and trained more than 100 volunteers to roam the crowd to keep the peace. Hundreds of counterdemonstrators showed up, many flashing signs reading “Smash the Klan.” While the klan members were in front of City Hall, the anti-klan protesters broke through the fence behind the building and threw rocks and bottles, breaking eight windows but coming nowhere near the klan members.