According to NMR’s own website, it was “the biggest national gathering in Gothenburg in modern times”.
About 600 NMR protestors turned up for the event named “Revolt Against the Traitors”, while the organisers were expecting a thousand. They were all dressed in black, with insignia showing a green arrow pointing upwards. Some foreign NMR supporters were stopped at the borders, however, with reports of 20 people, mostly Danes and Germans, being prevented from participating in the protest.
According to a statement by the Swedish police, at least fifty people were arrested, including both NMR marchers and counterprotestors who came from all over Europe to oppose the march. Among the arrests was Simon Lindberg, the NMR leader.
Although police used horses and police vans to maintain a line between the two groups, here and there scuffles broke out between the two groups. Counterprotestors threw firecrackers and also hurled insults at police. After the arrests of NMR members, the movement chanted “traitors to the people” at police.
As a result of complaints by Sweden’s Jewish community, the route to be used by the NMR marchers was first altered and then severely shortened to avoid their passing the Gothenburg synagogue. According to Haaretz, “the amended route… meant the Nazi demonstration would be passing dangerously close to one of Gothenburg’s synagogues on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur”.
Because counterprotestors were blocking their route, the NMR marchers were eventually boxed in and could hardly move. One of their members, Paulina Forslund, tweeted in protest:
Now we are being trapped by the Swedish policeforce. They are not letting anyone out. They have also arrested our Leader Simon Lindberg pic.twitter.com/YZ9tJBB0tl
— Paulina Forslund (@PaulinaForslund) September 30, 2017
Police had prepared an additional 350 jail beds in the police garage in case they had to make mass arrests.
The masked “black block” counterprotestors drew the ire of Gothenburg residents. During a live broadcast of the protest by the Swedish state radio and television, a smartly dressed Swedish lady was seen telling masked counterprotestors to leave. The activist and alternative-media broadcaster known as Peter of Sweden reported on Twitter that Gothenburg residents eventually clashed with the antifa counterprotestors.
The citizens of Gothenburg just attacked Antifa. Yelling they’re the same as nazis. Best sight I seen in my life. Makes me proud to be Swede
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) September 30, 2017
Some shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were also given by the masked counterprotestors, according to Peter of Sweden.
On Friday, the country’s left-wing prime minister, Stefan Löfven, said in the Estonian capital Tallinn during an EU summit: “As a democracy, we should do much more to oppose Nazism and extremism.” He later praised the Swedish police for their conduct during the NMR protest.