Neo-Nazi protester arrested for attacking bartender with flag in Nashville, Tennessee: police

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Canadian protester carrying a Nazi flag was charged Sunday night with using the flagpole to strike a bartender in downtown Nashville who had just gotten into a brawl with members of the neo-Nazi protest group, authorities said.

Metro Nashville Police said Ryan Scott McCann, 29, of Ontario, Canada, was among a group of neo-Nazi protesters carrying Nazi flags and spewing “white supremacist rhetoric” at the corner of Broadway and 3rd Avenue on Sunday, July 14, “to the dismay of passersby.” Several officers, who are aware of free speech laws, remained nearby and observed the group’s actions.

Officials said the group left Broadway and headed south along 3rd Avenue, but along the way a 19-year-old bar employee got involved in a fight with the protesters. As the groups split up, McCann was reportedly seen hitting the 19-year-old in the face and ribs with the flagpole.

Police said McCann was charged with aggravated assault and disturbing the peace. A judicial commissioner ordered him held on $81,000 bail, pending a bond hearing before a Davidson County judge.

The bar employee was arrested for disturbing the peace and resisting police, authorities said. His bail was set at $2,000.

“Chief John Drake condemned the hate being spread by the neo-Nazi group,” Metro Police said in a statement Sunday evening. “He expressed his gratitude to MNPD officers who spent the late afternoon/early evening monitoring the group’s activities.”

This news came just over a week after more than 100 people, believed to be members of the Patriot Front, marched through the streets of downtown Nashville, covering their faces with masks and holding Confederate signs and flags.