US White Supremacist Leader Banned From Attending Polish Far-Right Conference

© AP Photo / Chris O'MearaWhite Nationalist Richard Spencer Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.
White Nationalist Richard Spencer Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. - Sputnik International
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The Polish government will prevent a visit to the country by an American white nationalist for the purpose of speaking at a far-right conference in Warsaw in November.

Richard Spencer, 39, a self-styled leader of the US racist group responsible for the August neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that saw the death of Heather Heyer — a young woman protesting the march — at the hands of a white supremacist who drove his car into a group of peaceful pedestrians. 

Members of white nationalists are met by a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S - Sputnik International
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Witold Waszczykowski, a Polish politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, described Spencer as the kind of person "who defames what happened during World War II, defames the Holocaust," according to the Guardian.

"He should not appear publicly, and especially not in Poland," Waszczykowski said on Friday, adding that "as a country which was one of the biggest victims of Nazism, we believe that the ideas promoted by Mr. Spencer and his followers could pose a threat to all those who hold dear the values of human rights and democracy."

Spencer had been invited to speak at the conference organized by far-right organizations which will take place a day before Poland's independence day, which has become a day known for being one of the largest extremist gatherings in Europe.

Although Waszczykowski made it clear that Spencer's opinions are "in conflict" with Poland's legal order, it is not clear whether the notorious American racist will actually be banned from entering the country's borders.

A spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard confirmed that Polish border police are not able to confirm whether Spencer will be blacklisted at the airport.

In 2014, Hungary outlawed the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist group led by Spencer. When Spencer tried to hold his meeting in spite of the ban, he was arrested, deported and prohibited from entering the country for three years.

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