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The July 4 white supremacist march exposes an uncomfortable truth about our country

July 6, 2026 · 1 min read

(RNS) — It should be a contradiction that the Confederate flag was marched alongside the Betsy Ross flag through the streets near the U.S. Capitol on Independence Day.

The rebel banner was brought to the Capitol by hundreds of masked agents associated with Patriot Front, a white supremacist hate group founded after the 2017 showdown over a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Virginia. It waved in the wind alongside the flag of the 13 colonies and upside-down U.S. flags — a symbol of national distress — seeming to imply they were calling a nation in peril back to, or closer to, the exclusionary democratic vision of its founders. They echoed this in their chants to “reclaim America.”

But the hateful demonstration recalled a dissonance that has always been present in America’s politics.

Erin Wilson, intelligence project director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in response : “The white nationalist hate group, the Patriot Front, hid behind masks and marched the streets of Washington, D.C., ironically representing the opposite of patriotism.”

Many Americans fall prey to the temptation to agree with Wilson that overt racists marching Washington, D.C., streets on the…

Source: Religion News Service · Read the full story →

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Антон Лебедев

And what, the article doesn’t say a word about how many of these “hundreds” in masks there actually were? According to the photo in the news, there were at most a couple of dozen of them, not an army. And why is it that every time someone waves the flag of the 13 colonies, it is immediately a “white supremacist”, but an upside-down BLM flag or proud hammers and sickles is simply an “expression of opinion”?

Софья Павлова

Anton accurately noticed about the number - in the photo it really looked like a small group, and not hundreds. And yes, it’s strange when the flag of the 13 colonies is immediately molded into a supremacist, while the hammer and sickle or the inverted BLM flag is simply called a “protest.” Double standards, nothing new.

Μιχάλης Παναγιωτόπουλος

The article says "hundreds of masked agents" but from the photos I saw it actually looked like 20-30 people at most. And yes, every time the flag of the 13 colonies comes out it is immediately plastered with white supremacist, while other symbols are dubbed "protest". I don't know, the outrage seems a bit selective to me.

Elena Florea

I think the article exaggerates with "hundreds of masked agents", because from the pictures I saw, it looked like 20-30 people, not an army. And yes, it's weird how the 13 colonies flag is immediately associated with white supremacist, while others are just "protest".

Михаил Виноградов

Sophia correctly noted about double standards - the hammer and sickle are still considered by many to be “just a symbol of struggle,” and Betsy Ross is immediately labeled as a racist. While fishing in Voronezh, some men were arguing about flags, and it turned out that the main thing was who was carrying it and why, and not the piece of fabric itself. How many people actually were there, in your opinion, if not hundreds?

Максим Васильев

Mikhail, I agree, the main thing is who is carrying it and why. In Yaroslavl, at church meetings, they also remember how the hammer and sickle were hung in dachas “just like that,” and Betsy Ross was immediately banned. According to the video, there were 150-200 people there at most, not hundreds, the masks only added to the theatricality. What do you think, why did they climb in on Independence Day?

Елена Смирнова

Mikhail, accurately noted about “who is carrying it and why” - here in Yekaterinburg, at parish gatherings, they also remember how the sickle and hammer on the T-shirts of young people is “just style,” and any American flag is immediately labeled as extremism. From the video, I counted about 120–150 people, no more. How long do you think it could really have been without these masks?