Georgia State Patrol in riot gear kept protestors 75 yards away from a National Socialist Movement rally in Newnan's Greenville Park on April 21, 2018.

Georgia State Patrol in riot gear kept protestors 75 yards away from a National Socialist Movement rally in Newnan's Greenville Park on April 21, 2018.

Last month three dozen members of a neo-nazi group rallied in Newnan, south of Atlanta. Hundreds of people showed up to protest. The City of Newnan and Coweta County governments spent $212,000 dollars to keep the peace.

 43 law enforcement agencies responded to the April 21 rally of the National Socialist Movement.

About 700 police officers worked overtime.  It cost the city $3,600 just to feed them all for the day, while streets were closed with rented barricades and helicopters circled the sky.  No one was injured, despite fears of violent clashes like what erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia last year.

Emails obtained through an open records act request show investigators from the Coweta County Sheriff’s department circulated false information from Facebook the day before the rally. One post forwarded around the department came from the III% ring-wing militia group, and wildly overestimated how many antifa counter-protesters to expect.

A Georgia State Patrol officer stands guard as members of the National Socialist Movement arrive in Newnan's Greenville Park under police escort.

A Georgia State Patrol officer stands guard as members of the National Socialist Movement arrive in Newnan's Greenville Park under police escort.

An armored convoy rolls down one of Newnan's closed streets on April 21, 2018.

An armored convoy rolls down one of Newnan's closed streets on April 21, 2018.

The City of Newnan rented 415 water barricades for $25,000.

The City of Newnan rented 415 water barricades for $25,000.

Text from a Facebook post was copy and pasted into emails forwarded by Coweta County Sheriff's Department investigators and employees.

Text from a Facebook post was copy and pasted into emails forwarded by Coweta County Sheriff's Department investigators and employees.

A tally of the City of Newnan's costs.

A tally of the City of Newnan's costs.

Coweta County's accounting of April 21.

Coweta County's accounting of April 21.

Tags: Newnan  protest  First Amendment  Georgia