A white supremacist demonstration took place on Saturday, November 9, outside American Legion Post 141, where Fowlerville Community Theatre was staging a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Video footage posted by the American Legion shows a group of demonstrators holding Nazi and American flags bearing white supremacist symbols gathered outside the venue.
A representative from the American Legion said that the organization had intended the play to be educational, in response to recent reports of rising antisemitism. The American Legion also broadcasted a Facebook livestream on Saturday, capturing footage of the demonstrators being confronted by deputies from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
In the video, one demonstrator can be heard telling deputies, “We’re protecting our right to free speech.” Upon noticing they were being recorded, the demonstrators dispersed.
A second group of demonstrators, numbering four, was seen later that day in Fowlerville, displaying Nazi flags at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Grand Street. It is unclear whether the two groups were connected, as the demonstrators were masked.
In a press release issued Monday, LCSO confirmed the presence of five masked individuals demonstrating outside the American Legion. Initially, the group entered the Legion’s parking lot but were asked to vacate the property.
“The demonstrators then went across the street and waved flags adorned with Nazi insignia,” LCSO wrote. “A subject then approached them and an argument ensued. Nothing physical transpired and ultimately the parties involved separated.” LCSO deputies continued to patrol the area over the weekend, with no further incidents reported.
Fowlerville Community Theater also released a statement on Monday, describing the events that unfolded during their performance. According to the statement, the Production Team became aware of the protest during the first act and informed the audience and cast members at intermission, before continuing the show.
“As a theater, we are storytellers,” the statement read. “We tell stories that transport audiences to different times and places — some real, some fantastical. This production centers on real people who lost their lives in the Holocaust, and we have endeavored to tell their story with as much realism as possible.
“On Saturday … things became more real than we expected; we were hiding with Nazis outside. As a theater, we want to make people feel and think. We hope that by presenting Anne’s story, we can help prevent the atrocities of the past from happening again.”
This protest is the latest in a series of white supremacist demonstrations in Livingston County this year. In July, a group gathered outside the Livingston County Historic Courthouse and later outside the Howell Carnegie District Library, chanting slogans including “Heil Hitler.” Later that day, a second demonstration occurred on an overpass at I-96 and Latson Road, where demonstrators chanted, “We love Hitler. We love Trump.”
