We are disgusted': Howell doesn't want to stand for hate, but the hits keep coming

 That's the response of multiple organizations in response to a white supremacist gathering outside Howell's American Legion Post 141 on Saturday, Nov. 9, during a performance of "The Diary of Anne Frank."

In specific, the quote is from the American Defamation League (Michigan), which wrote a statement Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

More:'We were hiding with Nazis outside': White supremacists protest play in Howell

“We are disgusted by the far-right extremists who praised Hitler and waved Nazi flags outside of an American Legion hosting the play ‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ and we stand with American Legion 141 and @HowellTownship who know that hate doesn't belong in their community.”

According to video posted to social media by the American Legion, a group of five demonstrators holding Nazi flags and American flags with white supremacist symbols gathered outside the organization where the show was produced by Fowlerville Community Theatre.

A member of the American Legion told WLNS the play was intended to be educational amid reports of rising antisemitism. The organization went live on Facebook on Saturday, filming the demonstrators being confronted by deputies from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.

One demonstrator can be heard telling deputies they're protecting their right to free speech.

Another four demonstrators were seen waving Nazi flags in Fowlerville at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Grand Street. It's unclear whether the protests shared members, as their faces were covered.

The Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, also spoke out against the demonstration.

“We condemn this display of neo-Nazi hate and join all those speaking out against the rising bigotry and societal division we are witnessing nationwide,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “All such attempts to promote racism, antisemitism or any other form of bigotry must be repudiated by local, state and national religious and political leaders.”

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.    

WLNS also quoted Jason Woolford, recently elected to represent the area in the Michigan House of Representatives, and Howell Mayor Robert Ellis — both of whom are frustrated by Howell's continued reputation as a safe space for white supremacists.

“I’ll say to those that are using our community and, in most cases don’t even live here, to promote a message of hate, quit coming here,” Woolford said.