A Klu Klux Klan rally ended in bloodshed on Saturday when four people were stabbed, one of which was critically injured as violence erupted in California.
#KKK rally #Anaheim quickly turns #violent as counterprotesters beat and kick klansmen. At least two people stabbed. pic.twitter.com/GmkmUWDHjM
— luis sinco (@luissinco) February 27, 2016
Thirteen people were arrested after the fracas in Pearson Park, Anaheim.
The conflict began when dozens of protesters arrived at the park to confront a small group of Klan supporters, wearing black and confederate flag patches, according to LA Times.
Protestors have arrived to Pearson Park in Anaheim to protest against the KKK rally scheduled for 1:30pm. pic.twitter.com/pPH8tiNrUx
— FC Hornet Local (@FCHornet_local) February 27, 2016
Confronting racism & bearing witness at the KKK rally in Anaheim, CA. @latimes pic.twitter.com/kKms8bplfu
— Melodye Shore (@MelodyeShore) February 27, 2016
The two groups began to brawl, with some of the protesters seen to be kicking a Klansman. Soon after, a protester fell to the ground, shouting that he’d been stabbed.
LA Times reports that a handcuffed Klansman could be heard telling a police officer that "stabbed him in self-defense," while witnesses said that the white supremecist used the point of a confederate flagpole.
Stabbing at Ponderosa Park. #KKK rally turns violent in Anaheim pic.twitter.com/aO1mL3zPk8
— Gabriel San Román (@gsanroman2) February 27, 2016
Three other people were stabbed, Reuters reports. The names of those detained and the victims have not been released.
The Klan once held political power in Anaheim and held up to five City Council seats before a recall effort led to their dismissal in 1924.
ANALYSIS: 5 Key Facts on the Racist History of the Confederate Flag
A KKK rally was once attended by 20,000 people in the city.
The Klan, founded after the abolition of slavery in the U.S. South in the mid-19th century, has evolved in recent years into a collection of loosely affiliated or independent groups that share a political philosophy based on racial separation.
Most recently, it made national headlines when a former KKK leader, David Duke, said he backed Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.