Hundreds march against racism after KKK incident in Schwyz

Demonstrators wanted to show Schwyz is tolerant, not racist. Keystone

Several hundred people have taken part in an anti-racism demonstration in the central Swiss town of Schwyz after a group dressed up in Ku-Klux-Klan costumes at the carnival there in March.

Organizers said they wanted to fight the idea of Schwyz as a stronghold of right-wing extremism and show that it is “a canton with many colourful, tolerant people”.

Some 400 people took part, according to the organizers, while police put the figure at 300.

Police said they expelled about a dozen people thought to be right-wing extremists, but the rally was otherwise peaceful.

The Schwyz cantonal police force has interviewed all 12 people who dressed in Ku-Klux-Klan costumes during local carnival celebrations on March 4. The case is now in the hands of a local prosecutor. 

The group of 12 people who wore KKK outfits during the Schwyz carnival are local Swiss men, aged 18-30, according to police. 

The KKK is a white supremacist group, founded in the US in 1865, which terrorized blacks in the US South and later targeted other minority groups, following the Civil War and the emancipation of African-American slaves. There are thought to still be around 8,000 KKK supporters in the US. The group has reportedly established contacts with right-wing groups overseas.