05/29/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BBoHvRcA2/
A white supremacist group that marched at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Saturday sparked outrage in the community, condemnation from the NAACP, and a response from the city's police department.
"Patriot Front" is a group that says it rejects diversity, favoring the creation of a white ethnostate in the United States, according to the Program on Extremism at George Washington University (GWU). During demonstrations, members within the group are known to wear white masks — specifically balaclavas — in an attempt to avoid direct identification.
The Virginia Beach Police Department confirmed to News 3 that the marchers were members of Patriot Front. It was also noted by VBPD that the group posed no threat to public safety and that their choice to wear masks was an assertion of their First Amendment rights. This is despite a Virginia law that made it unlawful for anyone over the age of 16 to wear a mask with the intent to conceal their identity in a public place.
The Virginia Beach NAACP issued a statement, it reads, in part: "While the group may not have shouted words during their march, they carried instruments and symbols of hate in the flags and imagery they displayed. Silence does not erase the message being communicated. The symbolism associated with extremist organizations is designed to intimidate, divide, and remind marginalized communities that hatred still exists openly in public spaces."
