Hundreds of counter-protesters show up for KKK rally with less than a dozen attendees
Hundreds of counter-protesters demonstrated against an estimated nine attendees of a planned rally by a Ku Klu Klan-affiliated group in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday, CBS affiliate WHIO reported. Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl told the station he was "very pleased" with security, noting that no one was arrested or injured.
"This clearly was a safety challenge for our city and our community," Biehl said. City officials estimated that the cost of security measures for the event with nine KKK members was $650,000, according to TIME.
The nine members of the Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana did little talking and when they did try to communicate, counter-protesters made sure they couldn't be heard, WHIO reports. All but one of the Klan members wore masks.
City officials estimated that around 500 to 600 people gathered in the area of Courthouse Square during the rally. News spread nationally earlier this week about the planned KKK rally after the group received a permit last month for the event.
More than 200 people attended an NAACP-sponsored "Love" event in downtown Dayton, city officials told WHIO.
Mayor Nan Whaley praised those who attended the counter-event "to celebrate what Dayton is all about."
"We are united against hate," Whaley said. "We are a community that no matter who you love, where you come from or what you believe, you are welcome in Dayton."