Masked racist march in Kansas City… Police say they ‘just showed up’

Can you imagine suddenly finding a Nazi in your living room?

The man is rearranging your things, urinating on your couch cushions, stomping his filthy boots across your carpet, and shouting threatening chants—against your very existence, in your own home.

That is precisely what the good people of Kansas City, Missouri had to face on Saturday, May 24, 2025, when approximately 100 white supremacists “suddenly appeared” marching in front of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in the historic heart of the city. Police told the media they “believe” the individuals are not from around here.

They are not “technically” Nazis in the strict analytical sense, but to many eyewitnesses, they are cowards—only a handful showed their faces, while the rest hid behind masks:

“I don’t know anything about them, except they were cowards ‘cause they all had masks on […]. It makes me disappointed. They seemed to be young people, younger than me, I’m 78. So I’m disappointed that they don’t understand what veterans have gone through to keep America safe from other countries,” a war veteran told photojournalist and documentarian Bret Hamilton (@brethamilton) while warning that in the current state of affairs, other nations might take over the United States.

This Monday, May 26, marks Memorial Day.

The “protesters” belong to “Patriot Front,” a white nationalist hate group founded in 2017 by Thomas Rousseau after the infamous and violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. This pseudo-organization, tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center, promotes an ultranationalist ideology centered on the creation of a white ethno-state in the U.S., openly rejecting multiculturalism and diversity. Rousseau himself delivered a repugnant speech here, in the very heart of our city.

Bret Hamilton reported on his social media that within less than an hour of their arrival, the group had vanished and that Kansas City Police had escorted them at the front and rear of their march—suggesting they must have obtained a permit. The account @ChaosAlertsOnX shared a video showing the masked supremacists hurriedly loading into several U-Haul trucks, while police patrols protected them as bystanders shouted and confronted them following the end of their fascist parade.

However, a Kansas City Police Department spokesperson told KSHB Channel 41 that they “were unaware that the group was planning to come into the city because the group does not advertise their protest or march locations,” and that supposedly “there is zero indication” that officers escorted them. And yet, there are the images on social media: KCPD officers and patrol vehicles visibly accompanying and shielding these racists.

Now, should transporting so many people in the back of U-Haul trucks not have warranted legal and social scrutiny by the police officers present?

Mayor Quinton Lucas has much to explain regarding the presence of a white nationalist hate group in Kansas City—a city rightfully celebrated for its rich cultural and ethnic diversity. Unfortunately, and as is often the case, he limited his response to a vague and weak post on X, formerly Twitter, offering no meaningful context:

“While the First Amendment provides the right to bring any message to Kansas City, we know that our diversity, our welcoming community, and our respect for the rights of all reject whatever hate and cowardice come our way.”

This journalist believes Mr. Lucas could summon the same passion he displays when sharing his sports opinions online to speak out on something as dangerous and insidious as the presence of a hate group that came to terrorize our community with their racist ideology.

Let us hope these masked phantoms do not “just show up” again—that they don’t return, that there is no next time. Or at the very least, that authorities will have the basic moral decency to warn us, so this strong community can make it clear: Racists and their messages of hate are not welcome in Kansas City.

(*) J. Antonio Ruiz H. is a Mexican American journalist and graduate of the Escuela de Periodismo Carlos Septién García. He holds a degree and professional license registered with Mexico’s National Registry of Professionals (SEP). He currently produces and hosts the YouTube program “Con Toño Ruiz.” He previously served as news editor for Azteca America newscasts and as general news director at Sin Censura TV.