White nationalist Patriot Front marches in Washington during July Fourth festivities

Patriot Front members marched near the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in khaki pants, blue shirts, white face coverings, sunglasses and caps marked with the group’s logo on Washington’s Fourth of July. Patriot Front said on social media that it had arrived in the capital with about 400 members, and hundreds of people in Patriot Front outfits rode D.C. Metro trains.

Washington Metropolitan Police tracked the group’s “First Amendment” activities and recorded no arrests, no complaints filed and no calls for assistance tied to the march. The demonstrations unfolded amid heightened security for Washington’s America 250 festivities, a national special security event, the highest security classification, with nearly 5,000 National Guard troops stationed around miles of fencing, hundreds of law enforcement personnel deployed and the Secret Service in charge of the main events. Officials said there were no specific, credible threats tied to the holiday celebrations.

Marchers carried Confederate flags and variations of the U.S. flag. Some chanted “Reclaim America.” Masked men marched at Union Station and across Capitol Hill while calling to rid the United States of immigrants, and officers and National Guard members were visible nearby.

Patriot Front formed in 2017 after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, breaking off from Vanguard America.