NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Tennessee Democrats are speaking out after Patriot Front held its annual Independence Day March in downtown Nashville.

The group posted videos of the march, including “activists” entering downtown, crossing the Cumberland River, marching down Broadway and giving a speech at Legislative Plaza across from the Tennessee State Capitol.

Democrats denounced the protests, calling the group “white supremacists.”

“Just two days after celebrating the independence of our nation, white supremacists have taken to the streets of Nashville carrying Confederate flags and chanting ‘deportation saves the nation’ and “Seig Heil,’” the Tennessee Democratic Party said in a statement. “We condemn these acts of terror in our community and call on Republican leaders of our state to do the same. The hatred and division that white supremacists and right wing groups seek to sow should never be acceptable to any citizen.”

“This comes after a march of new-Nazis in the Spring and Proud Boys rallying there a year ago,” State Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, said in a social media post. “Shame on my Republican colleagues who continue to welcome these hate groups to our state with racist laws and rhetoric.”

“This is what we’re fighting against in Tennessee. This is what we’re fighting against in America,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus said in a statement. “While our Republican state leaders sit quietly by, we refuse to let hate filled racists terrorize our community.”

Copyright 2024 WSMV. All rights reserved.