South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has condemned a neo-Nazi march that took place in her state on Saturday.
A group unfurled a Nazi flag during a rally on the steps of South Dakota's state Capitol building in Pierre on Saturday, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.
On social media, Noem said the group had sought to rally without a permit and were escorted away by Highway Patrol officers.
"Nazis are not welcome here in South Dakota," Noem wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "We stand on the shoulders of generations of Americans who have fought for the Freedom of all — here and abroad. We stand for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We reject all hatred and Nazis. Full stop."
In a response to Noem, Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi group, said his members were responsible for the display.
"We occupied your steps for the entire time we intended to be there, then slowly swaggered off to chant an entire lap around your house," Pohlhaus wrote on X.
Blood Tribe is a neo-Nazi group whose goal "is to normalize the swastika, usher in a resurgence of Nazi ideas and ultimately build a white enthnostate occupied, controlled and led by 'Aryans,'" according to the Anti-Defamation League. The group has reportedly held demonstrations since March 2023, with members masked and dressed in red and black.
Photos posted on social media showed a group wearing black masks, red shirts and black pants on the steps of the state Capitol building, with some holding the Nazi flag.
Brad Reiners, a spokesperson for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, told the Argus Leader that the group did not have a permit for the rally and immediately complied with highway patrol officers' orders to disperse.
Reiners said no charges have been filed in connection with the demonstration. He did not say whether Blood Tribe was responsible for the demonstration.
Newsweek reached out to Noem's office and Reiners via email for comment.
The Sioux Falls branch of the NAACP also condemned the rally and called on state authorities to conduct a "thorough and transparent" investigation into the incident.
"This abhorrent display of hatred and bigotry is a direct threat to the values of equality, justice, and freedom that our society strives to uphold," the NAACP said in a statement.
"The presence of such individuals in a place meant to symbolize democracy and inclusion is unacceptable. We demand immediate answers and swift action to uncover how these individuals were able to infiltrate and freely display their hateful ideology on public grounds."
The statement added that the "infiltration of Nazis into our public spaces is not just an isolated incident but a glaring indication of a larger, more systemic issue of rising hate and intolerance."
Update 6/10/24, 7:39 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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