June 25, 1978 rally is scheduled


Skokie readies itself for a neo-Nazi rally on June 25

Many groups plan counterdemonstrations.

On June 22, 1978 Frank Collin and the NSPA hold a rally in the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building Plaza in downtown Chicago.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “A band of 29 uniformed Nazis held a 10-minute demonstration.”

An estimated 5,000 protestors and 1,000 police are present at the rally. The New York Times estimates that there were “nearly a thousand counterdemonstrators.”

Because of the overwhelming number of counterdemonstrators at the NSPA rally in Chicago, there is growing concern over the likelihood of violence at the scheduled June 25, 1978 NSPA rally in Skokie.

Earlier in the year, Illinois State Representatives Grieman and Jaffee introduced House Resolution 698, a bill that limits hate speech.

The bill was working its way through the Illinois legislature while plans were made for the June 25 rally.