White Supremacist Protest in Jena, La.

[January 22, 2008]  JENA, La. (AP) -- A crowd mostly made up of members of the media listened as four white separatists demanded white rights, severe prosecution of six black teens accused of beating a white school mate and an end to the Martin Luther King holiday.

But the speeches didn't last long.

The "Jena Justice Day" planned Monday by the white supremacist Nationalist Movement ended about two hours earlier than organizers had planned, with most participants leaving long before that.

Still, Richard Barrett, a Nationalist spokesman, declared the day a success. He noted the group was successful earlier in having set aside the city's demand that it put up $10,000 to hold its rally and that it had collected about a dozen signatures to end the city's newly established interracial committee.

"We backed down the mayor, backed the committee down," he said. "So the chances are good we'll back the Jena Six down and Martin Luther King Day down as well."

The group opposes support of the so-called Jena Six -- the six black teens whose case in September sparked one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in recent years -- and a holiday for King, the slain civil rights leader.

About 50 white supremacists showed up Monday, with 27 marching to the high school and back before the speeches began.

About 100 counter-demonstrators turned out briefly to wave signs and shout slogans before marching away.

Chants of "No KKK!" from the mostly college-aged counter-demonstrators were met with a chant from the separatists that contained a racial epithet.

Several demonstrators reportedly showed up with guns. But there was just one arrest reported during the day -- that of a man authorities identified as William Winchester Jr. of New Orleans and a member of the New Black Panthers.

The arrest came after dozens of state police, at one point, forced back 10 people, dressed in New Black Panther uniforms who had gathered around a podium where Barrett was to speak. The man identified as Winchester broke away from that group and was booked with battery of a police officer and resisting arrest. Members of the New Black Panthers at the scene declined to comment.

Nearly all the demonstrators and the counter-demonstrators appeared to be from outside of Jena.

John N. Hill, Jr., 58, of Monroe, La., said he felt compelled to come denounce the white separatists.

"Nobody fears these people anymore," said Hill, who is black. "If you confront evil you can stop it. If you don't confront it, it grows like weeds."

Race relations in Jena, with a population of about 2,800, have been in the news since the arrest of the black students accused of beating the white teen in December 2006.

About 20,000 people peacefully marched in support of the Jena Six in September.

Five of the black teens were charged with attempted murder, leading to accusations that they were being prosecuted harshly because of their race. Charges have since been reduced.

"I think people here are tired of all of this," said LaSalle Parish sheriff-elect Scott Franklin. "And it's a shame for this to happen on this day especially. But hopefully this will be the end of it. Both sides have had their say now."

[Associated Press; By MARY FOSTER]

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