Although the New Jersey European Heritage Association – which has been labeled by the public as a white supremacist group – did not show up for a march in Princeton on Saturday afternoon, that did not stop counter-protesters from gathering at Tiger Park to hold a demonstration of their own.
Chanting “No hate, no fear, Nazis are not wanted here” and carrying signs that proclaimed “It’s okay to be white, it’s not okay to be an a–hole” and “Not in Princeton, not anywhere,” about 200 counter-protesters walked in a circle around Tiger Park.
The New Jersey European Heritage Association had posted fliers around Princeton advertising its rally earlier in the week, but hours before the rally was to take place on Jan. 12, a tweet on its Twitter account said the march was a hoax and it never intended to carry out the march.
Nevertheless, the Princeton Police Department closed off Palmer Square and Hulfish Street to all vehicles from early morning until early afternoon. Two garbage trucks belonging to the Princeton Department of Public Works were parked on Nassau Street, blocking vehicular access to Palmer Square.
Pedestrian barricades were placed around Palmer Square, including Tiger Park, for crowd control. Police officers were stationed on the perimeter, behind the orange pedestrian barricades.
Police officers from neighboring towns, including East Windsor Township and West Windsor Township, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service and Princeton University Department of Public Safety, were called in to back up the Princeton Police Department.
Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert, who observed the counter-protest from the sidelines, said it was “a beautiful demonstration of Princeton’s values. We were preparing for a more unwieldy event. I am glad it did not come to that.”
