2016 Sacramento riot

Riot

A white nationalist, anti-immigrant group called the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP) had a permit for a rally on the west steps of the capitol building to assert their free expression, oppose globalization, and protest against violence at recent rallies. They were joined by their affiliate, Golden State Skinheads (GSS).

Several groups led by Antifa (Anti-Fascist Action) Sacramento and BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) organized a counter protest. BAMN posted an article stating that "collective power through mass militant direct action can shut these Nazis down" and they "must be sent scurrying for their cars." Antifa Sacramento announced on their website that they had a moral duty to silence Nazis and called for direct action against them.

Anti-fascist protesters started arriving around 9:00 a.m. and just before 11:00 a.m. they confronted a TV crew, shouting "no cameras" at reporter Mike Luery of KCRA and the cameraman. The protesters grabbed Luery's mike and attempted to grab the camera.

Just before the TWP rally was scheduled to begin around noon, about 300 or more anarchists and other counter-protesters confronted the group. Members of the counter-protesters wore masks and used wooden bats, sticks, fireworks, and other weapons. A few people carried knives, though which side brought the knives used in the subsequent stabbings is unknown. About 400 people were involved in the violence. Ten people were hospitalized, all for multiple stabbing and laceration wounds, including two in critical life-threatening condition. Only one of the TWP and GSS members was stabbed. No known arrests were made. The capitol was locked down. Streets were closed. Over 100 police officers responded in riot gear and on horseback. They used rubber pellets and pepper-spray balls.

Matthew Heimbach, the chairman of the TWP, said they expected violence, although they planned the rally to be peaceful. TWP sent about 30 people together with Golden State Skinheads.

Yvette Felarca, an organizer for BAMN who was captured on video punching a man, stated that "mass militant action, with an integrated group of people" was used to shut down the White nationalist. She defended her organization's "mass militant action" against the TWP, saying, "I don't think the police should be protecting them, but despite all that, this is what it means to take independent action...enact and enforce the justice that's necessary through our movement."

Sacramento police chief Sam Somers said that "the anarchists have taken a much more aggressive stance to wreak havoc on the city."

California Assemblyman Jim Cooper was at the Capitol during the riot. He said violence was unnecessary, and the counter-protesters should have shut down the rally with yelling.

Cres Vellucci, a police observer and representative for the National Lawyers Guild, described the violence as a "free-for-all". Vellucci said the police basically let people do what they wanted and fight it out.

Participants

The Traditionalist Workers Party is listed as a white nationalist extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which describes TWP as the political wing of the Traditionalist Youth Network. TWP's website states that they are "defending faith, family, and folk against the politicians and oligarchs who are running America into the ground", and intend to achieve their goal by "building a nationwide network of grassroots local leaders who will lead Americans toward a peaceful and prosperous future free from economic exploitation, federal tyranny, and anti-Christian degeneracy."

BAMN is a militant left-wing activist group that organizes demonstrations and litigation to achieve its aims. It organizes primarily in colleges and K-12 schools. BAMN was involved in some of the violence and looting during the Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Berkeley in 2014, again in 2017, and during Occupy Oakland.

Aftermath

A middle school in Berkeley, California received an email threatening harm against its students if it didn't fire Yvette Felarca, who is one of the teachers at the school, and an organizer with By Any Means Necessary. Police have increased security at the school, and summer programs were moved to other locations. Because Felarca's actions were done in her off time, no action can be taken against her, unless the police file charges against her. Cate Cauguiran reported that the police and the California Highway Patrol are investigating a video of Felarca punching a protester.

Both sides of the protest have claimed victory. The TWP considered the action a success because "six Antifas have been hospitalized in critical condition, with many more being treated for lesser injuries" while they "only suffered one significant casualty." The counter-protesters considered it a success because they prevented the TWP from achieving their objective of holding a rally in Sacramento.

The TWP planned to be in Cleveland, Ohio for the Republican National Convention there in July.

The Anti-Defamation League wrote that despite both sides claiming success it's "the white supremacists who most benefit from the free publicity" generated by the violence.

Genevieve Leigh, writing for the Trotskyists World Socialist Web Site, denounced the violence by counter-protesters. Leigh wrote that violence by small groups does not address the fundamental structural problems of a capitalist society and "ultimately play in the hands of the state."

On June 30, representatives and community leaders across Sacramento held a unity conference at the Capitol to denounce the violence on Sunday. Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, said “what happened here on Sunday is the opposite of what Sacramento is about.” Richard Pan, a Senator for Sacramento’s 6th District, said ”Many people come here to articulate different views and it’s important people have the ability to do so but violence is not the answer to addressing those issues."