04-27-2010, 07:06 PM
Three men wearing Nazi garb sparked a brawl with approximately 50 people outside a hardcore punk concert in Philadelphia.
Witnesses said the men were mocked inside the Khyber club Friday night for sporting tattoos of Nazi symbols and wearing camouflaged combat pants, WWII-style coats emblazoned with SS emblems and Third Reich hats with Nazi insignias.
Jimmy Gestapo, the frontman for the New York-based band Murphy's Law, told the Philadelphia Daily News that the trio incited a "semi-riot" outside the venue in between two of the band's sets.
According to a Philadelphia Examiner report that appears to have since been removed from the newspaper's website, "glass smashed and a footrace ensued" as the crowd closed in and attacked the three men, chasing them down the busy block of Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood.
"One Nazi was caught right in the middle of 2nd street as punches, kicks, bottles, boots and blows rained down upon his prone and turtled body. He could be heard crying for help all up and down the block," the Examiner report read. "The other two were caught nearby and beaten severely."
In an e-mail to the Philadelphia Daily News, Gestapo said the men "did get their a**** kicked" over their "full Nazi dress."
Witnesses said bouncers and passers-by from other clubs contained the brawl. Police confirmed they responded to a disturbance around 11:30 p.m. but said no one was arrested or hospitalized.
The Examiner reported that the fracas inspired Murphy's Law to write and play an impromptu song called, "You Should Have Known Better," prompting an uproarious response from concert-goers.
An antifascist group, One People's Project, decried the neo-Nazis on its website, writing: "We don't know who the boneheads were nor who was responsible for the 2nd Street Smackdown, but let this be a lesson to them or anyone else that wants to play this game. You will lose it."
Khyber owner Stephen Simons said the incident marked the first time anyone has showed up to the club wearing Nazi gear.
"As a Jew, I am totally offended by them wearing the uniforms," he told the Daily News. "But, as an American citizen, I totally uphold their right to dress however they want to dress."
Witnesses said the men were mocked inside the Khyber club Friday night for sporting tattoos of Nazi symbols and wearing camouflaged combat pants, WWII-style coats emblazoned with SS emblems and Third Reich hats with Nazi insignias.
Jimmy Gestapo, the frontman for the New York-based band Murphy's Law, told the Philadelphia Daily News that the trio incited a "semi-riot" outside the venue in between two of the band's sets.
According to a Philadelphia Examiner report that appears to have since been removed from the newspaper's website, "glass smashed and a footrace ensued" as the crowd closed in and attacked the three men, chasing them down the busy block of Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood.
"One Nazi was caught right in the middle of 2nd street as punches, kicks, bottles, boots and blows rained down upon his prone and turtled body. He could be heard crying for help all up and down the block," the Examiner report read. "The other two were caught nearby and beaten severely."
In an e-mail to the Philadelphia Daily News, Gestapo said the men "did get their a**** kicked" over their "full Nazi dress."
Witnesses said bouncers and passers-by from other clubs contained the brawl. Police confirmed they responded to a disturbance around 11:30 p.m. but said no one was arrested or hospitalized.
The Examiner reported that the fracas inspired Murphy's Law to write and play an impromptu song called, "You Should Have Known Better," prompting an uproarious response from concert-goers.
An antifascist group, One People's Project, decried the neo-Nazis on its website, writing: "We don't know who the boneheads were nor who was responsible for the 2nd Street Smackdown, but let this be a lesson to them or anyone else that wants to play this game. You will lose it."
Khyber owner Stephen Simons said the incident marked the first time anyone has showed up to the club wearing Nazi gear.
"As a Jew, I am totally offended by them wearing the uniforms," he told the Daily News. "But, as an American citizen, I totally uphold their right to dress however they want to dress."