Two men who were involved in a 2005 hate crime were among the dozen people arrested at a “White Lives Matter” rally held at the Huntington Beach Pier in southern California on Sunday. A much larger group of counter-protesters gathered in Huntington Beach in response to the rally, which was organized on the social media app Telegram. Far-right activists showed up alone or in small groups over the course of the afternoon, and were almost immediately surrounded by counter-protesters. During one altercation, a man with a swastika tattoo on his arm can be seen in video posted by various live-streamers attempting to walk away from the counter-protesters. One of the counter-protesters, who is Asian, can be heard in the video calmly saying, “If you’re strong enough to stand for your beliefs, then speak to me.” After the two men bumped chests, the man with the swastika tattoo shoved the other man and punched him in the face, next to a police car and surrounded by a scrum of live-streamers. The police have identified the assailant as Andrew Nilsen, a 38-year-old resident of Huntington Beach who is charged with fighting in public. Triet Tran, the man who was punched, was also charged with fighting in public. It is unclear why Tran, a 36-year-old resident of Santa Ana, was charged. Although insistent that Nilsen explain his far-right beliefs, video from at least two sources shows no instance of Tran putting his hands on Nilsen. In a video published on Twitter by television producer and news live-streamer Andrew Kimmel, Tran can be seen prior to the altercation walking backwards with his hands clasped behind his back as Nilsen advances towards him.

via rwastory: Exclusive: Huntington Beach neo-Nazi who punched Asian man has a history of racist violence