Three people were stabbed, one with a flagpole, and 12 people were
arrested during a brawl on Saturday morning between self-described Ku Klux Klan members and counter-protesters at an Anaheim park, police said.
Initially arrested were five Klan members – four men and a woman – and seven counter-protesters – five men, a male juvenile and a woman. Seven people were booked in the Anaheim jail on assault or abuse charges. Police are seeking one additional suspect who can be seen in a video of the altercation punching a Klansman.
“I’ve lived in Anaheim my whole life and I have never heard of
anything like this,” said Anaheim resident Joe Castaneda, who saw the
melee break out.The confrontation occurred at around noon after a group of six KKK members showed up at Pearson Park, a witness said. Klan leaders earlier this week announced their intention to hold a rally there, and a group of about 30 counter-protesters were waiting for them.
One of the counter-protesters was stabbed with the decorative end of a
flagpole, said Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt. An officer responding
to the scene saw one of the Klansmen stab a counter-protester with a
knife. The Klansman admitted to stabbing the man, but told the officers
that it was self-defense, Wyatt said.The counter-protesters and the Klansmen briefly had words before the fight began, Castaneda said.
He said the counter-protesters were telling the Klansmen that they weren’t welcome in the community and to get out. He couldn’t hear what the Klansmen were saying.
“Some words were exchanged and that is pretty much when the fight began,” Castaneda said.
“It was just the three of them against a whole crowd,” Castaneda said.
At one point, Castaneda said, one of the Klansmen lunged at him with the flagpole, but backed away after Castaneda stepped back and showed the man a cane he uses to walk.
The men were wearing military type clothing, Castaneda said. “They were definitely dressed up (for) the occasion.”
The man stabbed by the flag pole was taken to a hospital in critical
condition, Wyatt said, but his condition later improved. The second
stabbing victim suffered lesser injuries. The extent of injuries for the
third victim, found in a vehicle on Lemon Street, was not clear. All
victims are expected to survive.Warning: The following video contains graphic footage.
Anaheim police on Friday sent a Twitter message out telling the community that they were aware of the planned KKK rally. The message noted that several other rallies have occurred over the past few years, with a small group of Klansman passing out “literature” and holding signs.
Counter-protesters had been at the park since early Saturday morning awaiting the rally, according to a witness who had been there since 9 a.m.
“You could feel the pulsing energy. I know that people were watching
the street to see when the Klansmen would show up,” said Melodye Shore
of Laguna Niguel, who was observing the protest with a friend. “As soon
as they saw that van, they were just all over it.”She said police response was not immediate.
“I would think that they would be a physical presence, considering
that they did know that there was a planned activity,” she said. “They
should have been right there. But no, it took awhile. I had time to take
a bunch of pictures before the police showed up.”Anaheim Police said in a news release they had a contingent of officers dedicated to the event. “Those officers were on scene immediately as the violence erupted and called for additional personnel,” according to the statement.
On Saturday, most of the protesters were gone by mid-afternoon, with a group of about two-dozen park visitors remaining to watch police go over the portion of Cypress Street where the conflict occurred.
The Klan once had a strong presence in Anaheim, and at the Pearson Park site.
On April 14, 1924, Anaheim voters elected four of five City Council members who secretly belonged to the Klan.
Many city workers resigned, but nine of Anaheim's 10 police officers supported the Klan – which held parades, painted the streets with K.I.G.Y. for “Klansmen I Greet You,” and stationed gunmen on buildings to shoot anyone dousing their burning crosses.
Wyatt said police are seeking video footage of the melee.
"We know there were all kinds of people out here with video, and we need that," he said.
These are racially charged and divisive times, and anyone showing up to a racist event in a racially-diverse area in 2016 — especially a racist event planned and advertised well in advance, and especially one with the Klan, of all things — with a sign reading "WHITE LIVES MATTER" isn't there to make peace.
But on top of the three people stabbed and 13 arrested was a real jolt: one of the arrested was identified by Bay City News as "Charles Donner, 51, of San Francisco."
San Francisco has a Klan member? And he goes to Anaheim for rallies? The world is full of surprises and secrets — including just who exactly Charles Donner is, and if he indeed lives in San Francisco at all.
According to news reports, charges have been filed against seven people — all of them counter-protesters, and not Klan members. The three people stabbed — some of whom, possibly, with an American flag — may have been stabbed in self defense.
But back to Donner.
A public records search through Lexis Nexis revealed exactly one Charles E. Donner born 51 years ago, whose address is reportedly in the Marina (?!). There is a Charles E. Donner listed as a licensed security guard in California, and according to state records, he lives in San Francisco.
This Donner has the same home address as a Charles Edward Dhonau, a Princeton alum and former publisher of TIME magazine in Japan, who died in the 1990s. And this Charles Edward Dhonau had a son, also named Charles. And a Charles E. Dhonau petitioned San Francisco Superior Court to have his name changed in the 1980s, according to records.
So is this the guy? Maybe.
Efforts to track down Donner through available channels were unsuccessful. A message left at a telephone number connected to him was not returned. And aside from the name change petition, his name does not appear on property or in court records.
Anaheim police spokesman Sgt. Daron Wyatt could not release a booking photo on Monday, and also could not immediately release the address of the Donner arrested in Anaheim.
If you happen to know a security guard in his 50s who lives in the Marina who is, well, a little extreme, he may be a Klansman.Charles Edward Donner—the San Francisco Klansman accused of stabbing three people in Anaheim during a highly publicized melee that broke out on Feb. 27—looked normal when he briefly exited his home, directly across from the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina, to move his car on March
He was neatly dressed in slacks and a white button-down shirt, in stark contrast to the all-black uniform decorated with Confederate Klansman regalia he boasted just days before. But the bruise below his eye—the likely result of a punch or kick to the face—gave him away.
When Donner was asked about his KKK affiliation outside of his home, he declined to comment.
Donner was one of the more visible KKK members during the anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rally in Anaheim; his knife-wielding image was captured in multiple photographs and graphic video and widely shared across social media.
The KKK rally had been scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27 at Pearson Park in Anaheim, but several anti-KKK protesters confronted the small group of Klansmen, who had driven to the event in a black SUV. Violence ensued before the rally officially started, and the SUV sped off, leaving Donner and two other Klansmen behind, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After being arrested Saturday by Anaheim police on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, bail was set at $25,000, but Donner was released on Sunday without charge. According to the New York Times, Anaheim police determined that Donner had acted in self-defense.
A seeming contradiction
The news that the lone Klansman held in police custody over the weekend calls San Francisco his home, came as a shock to many.
The D’Honau family has ties to Catholicism and Judaism, both of which have been well-documented targets of the Klan.
Donner’s father was born in New Jersey and attended the Princeton University, where he majored in psychology and where he was the circulation manager of The Daily Princetonian. There, he was also a member of the Catholic Club.
Charles D’Honau also worked as eastern advertising manager for Life magazine’s international editions in 1964, and eventually sold advertising space for Vogue and Seventeen magazines before joining Time, Inc., according to the obituary.
From 1965 to 1984 D’honau served as the Asia publishing director of Time, where he was based in Tokyo, Japan. According to the obituary, Donner’s father was called the “The American Samurai” by his Japanese colleagues and was a “consummate international person.”
D’Honau also became the president of the Princeton Club of Japan, and his favorite haiku reportedly read: “In my garden, native plants, foreign plants, growing together.” The obituary also mentioned that D’Honau belonged to the Presidio golf club in San Francisco.
Further investigation of Donner’s ancestry revealed that his New York-born paternal grandfather, William D’Honau, was the son of German immigrants. William D’Honau’s “native tongue” was listed in the 1920 United States Federal Census as “Yiddish,” suggesting that Donner has Jewish family ties.
El Tecolote contacted Donner’s brother for comment.
“I don’t have any comments on this,” said a Bill D’Honau when asked about his brother’s affiliation with the KKK over the phone. “All I can say is he’s very mentally ill.”
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