3 People Stabbed and 13 Arrested at Ku Klux Klan Rally in Anaheim, California

3 People Stabbed and 13 Arrested at Ku Klux Klan Rally in Anaheim, California
Counter protesters scuffle with a Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds, Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

LOS ANGELES—Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally in Southern California clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said.

The violence erupted shortly after noon in Anaheim’s Pearson Park, about 3 miles from Disneyland. The KKK had advertised plans for the rally and about 30 anti-Klan protesters showed up beforehand, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. When the Klan members arrived they were attacked as they exited their cars, he said.

One Klansman stabbed a counter-protester with the decorative end of a flag pole, Wyatt said. That stabbing set off a vicious brawl in which Klan members and protesters fought across an entire city block.

Counter protesters taunt an injured Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP)
Counter protesters taunt an injured Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP