There were no white supremacists rallying in Princeton, as was planned on Saturday, but instead hundreds of people marching against hate.
PRINCETON - There were no white supremacists rallying, as was planned on Saturday, but instead hundreds of people marching against hate.
The New Jersey European Heritage Association, deemed a small white supremacist group by the Anti-Defamation League, was planning on rallying in Palmer Square on Saturday afternoon, but on Friday night, the group cancelled its plans and claimed the event was actually a hoax.
"You’ve been punk’d," the group, which claims to oppose "white genocide," wrote on Twitter. "There isn't going to be a 'march' this Saturday, there never was."
Instead, on Saturday, hundreds of people came out to Palmer Square to rally against hateful rhetoric, waving signs and chanting anti-Nazi phrases.
The Rev. Erich Kussman, a Paterson pastor and member of the social justice organization Faith in New Jersey, came out on Saturday to spread his message of anti-hate.
"These hate groups, even if they show up or not, try to dispel and cause disruption to have people live in fear," he said. "Anytime that hate groups show up, we want to show them that love trumps hate."
He said he believes the New Jersey European Heritage Association, or NJEHA, "pulled out last minute" because of the efforts of the counter protesters, and "they know their message isn't welcome in Princeton."
He was proud to see the turnout of supporters Saturday "because it shows you how many people care about unity and diversity, and standing up for the marginalized and the oppressed."
Kussman said now is a critical time to stand up against hate.
"With all the hateful rhetoric going on on the government-level, it shows that people don't stand for hate," he said.
Emma Moore, a Princeton resident who grew up in nearby Lawrenceville, said Princeton has had social issues in the past, but she's glad to see that it "is not a place that will tolerate Nazism."
She said she wasn't surprised New Jersey European Heritage Association bailed out.
"I heard yesterday heard that the NJEHA chickened out," Moore said, "which is not surprising because they're like internet trolls."
She also said it's important to recognize hate and confront it, as opposed to ignoring it.
"If we ignore it, they get more confident," she said.
Elected officials on the local, state and federal level also addressed the planned white supremacist rally.
"These individuals have a right to free speech however despicable their message of hate, bigotry and ignorance," Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert said in a statement ahead of the planned rally. "We stand in opposition to this twisted attempt to spew hate."
Elected officials from the 16th Legislative District also spoke out.
“These few people who choose to spew their hatred want to divide our community," Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, a Democrat, said in a statement. "They will not and cannot ever prevail here in Princeton, the state, or the country as a whole, because an attack on our neighbors is not just an attack on our neighborhoods, but on our humanity."
"As I said yesterday, hate has no home in New Jersey," Sen. Kip Bateman said in a statement on Thursday. "I stand with Mayor Liz Lempert and our fellow local leaders in strong opposition to this march."
Bateman called the planned white supremacist rally "very distressing."
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th District, cautioned people to not let white supremacists' "hate poison your own heart."
“The freedom of speech that protects you and me unfortunately protects the right of those who have planned a white supremacist rally in our community this weekend," she said in a statement. "While they may come to spout hate and division, I’m confident they will quickly learn that our neighborhoods offer few sympathetic ears."
“Let me be clear — there is no place for bigotry and hate in New Jersey," Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District, said in a statement. "New Jersey is known for the beauty of its diversity and all races and ethnicities are welcome in our state."
Although some shops lost business on Saturday because of the road closures and anti-hate rally, shop owners said they agreed with the marchers' message.
Kathleen Maguire Morolda, an artist who owns of Cranbury Station Gallery, has operated a shop in Princeton for 28 years.
"I think that the beauty of doing business in a town like Princeton is that you can speak your message, whether people agree with you or not," she said.
Her shop had a sign hanging in a window that read: "We stand with our Muslim community members. We stand with refugees and immigrants in our community."
"I think that if you were to walk around you'd see that many of us have very inclusive signs in our store all year long," she said. "We may have lost a day, but there's a bigger picture sometimes."
Patrick Savickas of Lawrenceville said he came out on Saturday to show the people of Princeton that hate is not representative of the community.
"The protesters who were supposed to show up didn't even show up, but these people showed up," he said, referring to the anti-hate marchers. "I think it shows that they (white supremacists) are not welcome here, that their ideas are not acceptable in this neighborhood and this community."