Peaceful gathering at overpass counters neo-Nazi rally in St. Louis County

ST. LOUIS – A group of people gathered at an overpass to display positive messages Monday morning in west St. Louis County. This comes days after a group of neo-Nazis displayed disturbing messages at the same overpass.

The peaceful demonstrations happened Monday morning at the overpass of Mason Road at Interstate 64. Demonstrators promoted messages of peace and love by holding a variety of different signs that read “Love All,” “Be Kind,” and “Peace,” among others.

The peaceful demonstration comes as a response to a group of neo-Nazis that gathered at the same overpass on Mason Road on Saturday afternoon. The demonstration displayed swastika flags and banners that promoted an ideology of xenophobia and white nationalism.

Community leaders responded to the demonstration, with Adolphus Pruitt, president of the NAACP St. Louis, emphasizing the importance of not giving these hate groups the reaction they seek.

“You can’t give them a win. Becoming outraged is giving them a win,” Pruitt said. “They tried to shock people, but at the end of the day, the majority of folks in this region and in this country disagree with their position.”

Jordan Kadosh, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Heartland, called the rally a stark reminder of rising antisemitism across the country.

“We catalogue antisemitic incidents, and this would qualify, obviously,” Kadosh said.

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