More than 100 anti-fascists and white supremacists, some armed, clashed outside the 55th annual Islamic Society of North America convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Huston, Texas. The convention drew thousands of American Muslims for a weekend of talks, festivities and prayers.

The tensions run high from the start of the convention on Saturday 1st September. The event was protested by a group of couple of dozen or so Texas Patriot Network activists and white supremacists, some of whom showed up armed. They were vastly outnumbered by the anti-fascist activists, who included members of Houston Socialist Movement, International Socialist Organization, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Refuse Fascism, Socialist Alternative, Young Communist League, Huey P. Newton Gun Club and New Black Panther Party. Huey P. Newton Gun Club also came armed.

“We wanted to let them know that Houston is a majority black and brown city and they are not welcome here. They are not wanted here. We will be here as long as they are here. We are going to be here until we run them out of our city,” Brother Maitreya, chairman of the Houston chapter of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, said in an interview with Huston’s local paper.

Huston Antifa mobilised too. “A group of racist bigots known as Texas Patriot Network will attempt to hold an openly islamophobic protest against the Islamic Society of North America Convention in Huston this weekend. These racists and reactionaries organise under the guise of islamophobia in order to make they commitments to white supremacy marketable. Their movement is a front for organised racists,” their call-out reads.

The fight started when a fascist from Texas Patriot Network group run across the police barriers and begun punching anti-fascist activists. During the fight, three people were briefly detained and then released under the condition they leave the protest. No shots were fired.

Photo: video still