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ABC 17 Obtains Police Training Guide For Neo-Nazi March
Lindsey Rendlen :: 3/8/2007


A planned neo-Nazi march in Columbia is now less than two days away, and ABC 17 has obtained the police training guide detailing plans to keep the public safe. The briefing contains background on the National Socialist Movement, including tactics and examples of where the NSM's message fueled riots.

Approximately 30 NSM members are planning a march Saturday, March 10, around the MU campus. In a detailed briefing, Columbia Police plan to prevent any problems through strong enforcment and a four-prong approach: To ensure public safety, protect life and property, guard the First Amendment rights of all present, and maintain public order. It's an approach police say the NSM will seek to undermine with a strategy to incite minority groups with racial slurs.

ABC 17 spoke with Col. Tim Bishop of the NSM Thursday. Bishop says it is not true that his group incites riots, "We do use certain symbols to shock people into hearing our message of white power, and we will do so in a legal manner." Bishop says he will be at Saturday's march, and says his group will stay within police barricades, "Anyone who commits an illegal act will basically be kicked out of the group."

Police documents show while NSM members often cooperate with police, they will conceal members among counter-protestors to inflame tensions. CPD is working with the Department of Justice to employ tactics to keep such problems at bay.


From: www.komu.com
Politics Inside NSM
COLUMBIA - It may make you angry to hear what many consider to be a hate group call itself a legitimate political organization, but that's exactly what members of the National Socialst Movement say.


And this weekend the National Socialist Movement plans to lobby for its "party," for what members call "white rights."

Marvin Overby teaches political science at MU.

He says American political parties provide a label with which constituents can identify, and run candidates for office who provide a certain structure of government.

"All other parties other than the Democrats and Republicans are pretty much cut out of the political system," NSM leader Col. Bishop said


But Overby says minor parties, like the nazi party, are tough to quantify.


"Generally speaking what they want to do is get their message out," Overby said.

"We're running a candidate for president in 2008. We're there for white rights," Bishop said.

"Are they seriously thinking they're going to get this person elected, no, of course not," Overby said.

Bishop says he hopes people on both sides of the issue get through the afternoon safely.

"I don't want to see anyone get hurt, I don't want to see anyone in the opposition get hurt," Bishop said.

But MU sociologist John Galliher says a clash works in Nazi's favor.

"That's exactly what they have in mind. So they can become the victims and so they can say 'ya see what we're up against here," Galliher said.

But both sides agree on any group's right to speak.

"The 1st amendment's there to protect unpopular speech," Overby said.

"The constitution is there for one purpose, it's to use," Bishop said.

Edited by: Jonathan Coffman
Reported by: Jeremy Maskel

Published: Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 10:18 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 11:38 PM