A black man has hugged a white man wearing swastikas outside of white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech.
The man wearing swastikas, Randy Furniss of Idaho, was then punched in the face by another black man, as protesters grappled with how best to confront Spencer and his supporters.
Furniss described himself as a white nationalist in an interview with News4Jax prior to the confrontation, saying of non-white people: ‘They want what we have… They’re being raised up and it’s getting to the point where they want to push us down. That’s not right.’
After Furniss was punched in the face, a crowd shouting taunts followed him toward the barricades, where police escorted him to safety. ‘All this for one f**king Nazi?’ one person asked in surprise, according to Tampa Bay Times reporter Kathryn Varn.
The speaking event in Gainesville, Florida on Thursday drew only a handful of Spencer supporters but thousands of protesters, who packed the university auditorium to chant and shout while Spencer spoke.
It was Spencer’s first major public appearance since an August rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which devolved into violent clashes and left one dead.
In contrast, police kept tight control over the crowds in Gainesville, and there were no reports of major violence.
Randy Furniss, wearing red suspenders and a shirt with swastikas, was surrounded by protesters outside the speaking event on Thursday, where a black man hugged him, saying ‘Why you don’t like me, bro?’
Moments later, another unidentified protester punched Furniss in the face, underscoring how protesters grappled with how best to confront Spencer and his supporters at the tension-filled event
Furniss walks away with a bloody lip as demonstrators yell at him outside the location where Richard Spencer was delivering a speech in Gainesville, Florida. Police led him away from the crowd shortly after, but he was not among those arrested
Police said two were arrested at the event: one security guard ‘hired by media’ charged with a firearm violation, and another man charged with resisting police without violence.
‘There were a few scuffles, but for the most part it was an extremely peaceful event,’ said Chris Sims, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Inside the auditorium, the event started as scheduled, after the crowds had filtered inside through strict screening for weapons and other prohibited items.
Spencer began by thanking the some 500 police officers who secured the event, as well as the University of Florida’s president for allowing the event to proceed.
UF President W. Kent Fuchs has denounced Spencer, but as a public university the school is required to rent space to speakers regardless of their message.
Protesters began yelling and chanting when Spencer took the stage, and he criticized them for trying to suppress his speech.
The chants included ‘F**k you Spencer’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’.
White nationalist Richard Spencer addresses a noisy crowd of protesters at the University of Florida on Thursday
People react as white nationalist Richard Spencer, who popularized the term ‘alt-right’, speaks at in Gainesville, Florida
‘I´m not going home,’ said Spencer, who heads the National Policy Institute, a nationalist think tank. ‘We are stronger than you and you all know it!’
He appeared to have few supporters in the crowd. About 15 white men, all dressed in white shirts and khaki pants, raised their hands when Spencer asked who identified with the ‘alt-right’.
Spencer bantered with the chanting crowd for around 20 minutes, before skipping his prepared remarks in favor of a question and answer session from the crowd.
The questions ranged from serious to insulting, and included one student who excoriated the protesters for not allowing the peaceful exchange of ideas.
Asked about his views on a white ‘ethno-state’, Spencer spoke favorably of Israel as a model to consider.
‘The Jewish state of Israel is not just another country in the Middle East. It is a country for Jews around the world,’ he said, adding that he wanted European-descended white people to have the same kind of homeland.
The audience booed at the mention of Israel, but it was not clear whether their disapproval was of the country itself or the comparison.
Protesters chanted: ‘Not in our town, not in our state, we don’t want your Nazi Hate’
Crowds of Anti-Richard Spencer protesters march on the University of Florida outside the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts where the Alt-Right leader spoke on Thursday
Spencer said that he didn’t ‘want the world to be an undifferentiated mass of individuals going shopping in a global economy,’ also naming Poland, Hungary, and Russia as countries that want to maintain their ethnic identities.
Spencer left the campus soon after the event ended, university public safety officials said on Twitter.
Police worked to separate those who attended the event as they left the venue from protesters gathered nearby.
Anais Edwards, 26, was inside the venue and supported those trying to disrupt Spencer.
‘I´m really proud of how our community came together. Many of them were willing to stand up and not let him speak,’ Edwards said.
The university said it did not invite Spencer to speak, but was obligated by law to allow the event.
Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol Quick Response Force line in front of the Phillips Center on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville Thursday
Arrested: Sean Brijmohan (left), 28, of Orlando was charged with with carrying a firearm on school property – police said he was ‘armed security hired by media’. David Notte (right), 34, of Gainesville was charged with resisting a police officer without violence
The school said it would spend more than $500,000 on security, and the National Policy Institute is paying more than $10,000 to rent the facility and for security within the venue.
Five people with minor injuries were treated on the scene, police said.
The two men arrested were Sean Brijmohan, 28, of Orlando and David Notte, 34, of Gainesville.
Police said Brijmohan, who was charged with carrying a firearm on school property, was ‘armed security hired by media’.
Notte was charged with resisting a police officer without violence, and no further details were immediately available.