Masked demonstrators. Gathered first at historic synagogue, then down State Street to lakeside James Madison Park.

Hateful rhetoric all over before any confrontation

MADISON, Wis. –About 20 neo-Nazis carrying black swastika flags marched down State Street and the Lake Mendota shore. They chanted “There will be blood” and “Israel is not our friend.” They shouted racial and anti-Semitic epithets. The group had gathered about noon at James Madison Park in front of the Gates of Heaven synagogue, a 19th century Jewish place of worship. They wore black plants red shirts with “Blood Tribe” printed across the back. They covered their faces with black masks and sunglasses. There was no confrontation. No weapons were demonstrated. At the Lake Mendota, after a couple hours of marching, the group, hastily wrapped up their flags, covered their make-shift uniforms, and melted away. The group didn’t have a parade permit for what seemed to observers to be a spontaneous event, although obviously planned. There were 911 calls to police. News media, short-staffed on a Saturday, were caught unawares and had no reporters on site. It was unclear whether police had been tipped. Officers monitored the situation from afar once the group was up and going. Police Chief Shon Barnes later issued a statement: ‘The Madison Police Department does not support hateful rhetoric. The department has an obligation to protect First Amendment rights of all.

Pohlhaus. A tattooist who wears his art on a shaved head and elsewhere. Raises funds through podcasting and selling white supremacy gear.

Blood Tribe profile

The leader of the Blood Tribe cult, Christopher Pohlhaus, was believed in charge of the Madison rally. Pohlhaus, who was in the U.S. Marines for four years, founded the Blood Tribe in 2020. He operates an1 1-acre training camp of Maine. The group claims to have chapters throughout the United States and Canada. As best as academic cult-trackers can make sense of the cult’s values, there is am savory  mishmash of values. These include exalting Hitler as deity. There are elements of Wotanism, a variant of Norse pagan  worship. Anti-Semitism is cinsistent theme. Blood Tribe members emphasize hyper-masculinity, don’t allow women to belong, and  abhor homosexuality.  Blood Tribe sees themselves as the last remaining bulwark against enemies of the white race and the only path to a white “ethnostate.”