Masked group marches through Ohio neighborhood with swastika flag

The governor of Ohio and city officials in Columbus are speaking out after a group of masked people marched through the streets of Ohio’s capital Saturday dressed in black and carrying swastika flags.

The unidentified people were seen around 1 p.m. walk through the Short North neighborhood, according to Columbus ABC affiliate WSYX. Pictures and videos of the marches went viral on social media.

Columbus Police were dispatched and the investigation is ongoing.

“We will not tolerate hate in Ohio,” Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement on social media platform X Saturday night. “Neo-Nazis – their faces hidden behind red masks – roamed the streets of Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist slurs against people of color and Jews. There were reports that they also espoused white supremacy.”

He added: “There is no place in this state for hatred, bigotry, anti-Semitism or violence and we must condemn it wherever we see it.”

“The Columbus community stands squarely against hate and bigotry. We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship or who they love,” the city of Columbus said in a statement Saturday night. “We embrace tolerance and acceptance and derive great strength from our diversity. It is who we are as a people, and it is precisely what has enabled us to grow and thrive and reach new heights of excellence. Together, we reject the cowardly act reported in the Short North earlier today and we will continue to monitor the situation in cooperation with the Columbus Division of Police to ensure the safety of our city.”

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein echoed those sentiments in a declaration published on X.

“To those involved in the neo-Nazi march in the Far North today, take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back,” he said. “Your hatred is not welcome in our city.”

Last week, a group of masked protesters were seen waving Nazi flags outside a production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in Howell, Michigan.

The protesters were asked to move and there were no arrests.