The Stormfront white supremacists who arrived in Crossville, Tenn. for their annual summit were treated to canceled hotel reservations, a cancellation of their venue and an ongoing choir of hecklers who had discovered what was supposed to be a secret gathering and pestered to poor Nazis mercilessly, USA Today reported Sunday.
According to the report, Stormfront had reserved space at The Beef & Barrel for a Friday night get-together where good-old Nazis meet and greet and share tales of past glory (Stalingrad?), only to be rejected by the owner who said the reservation had been made under a false name. They finally all went to the local Shoney’s, the “All-American Family Style Restaurant” – although Hitler, a sworn vegetarian, would have frowned at all the cow meat and bacon.
The harassed Nazis then had to also move their secret Saturday conference after a restaurant at Cumberland Mountain State Park also put up the Brown Shirt – No Service sign.
Then came the taunts. USA Today quoted the local leader of the No Nazi protest, one Chris Irwin, who followed the group with his megaphone, saying stuff like, “Hello master race! You wanted to keep this a secret, Nazis, and then you did something stupid and you put it in a public park so we could come.”
Some attending the summit made obscene gestures. Others, like Thomas Robb of Harrison, Ark., the Ku Klux Klan’s national director, bowed and waved.
At least nine white supremacist gatherings have been held at Tennessee state parks since about 2011. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation does not ask the reason a group reserves a venue.
All told, the protesters – about 30 of them – outnumbered the Nazis, as is usually the case on these occasions. However, it was heart warming to discover that local businesses rejected the unwanted guests.