Lincoln City police arrested seven men on the Oregon Coast Saturday night after the men allegedly made racist threats toward a Black family during Fourth of July celebrations at the beach.
Police said the men were part of a group of about 10 white people, all from Clark County, Washington, who had been directing racist slurs and Nazi salutes toward the family.
“The Black family advised they felt intimidated by the actions this group had displayed towards them,” police said.
Officers initially arrived on the beach in front of the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City at about 9:30 p.m., following a report of the group shooting off illegal fireworks and causing a disturbance.
According to police, several officers had to form a barricade between the group of white men and the Black family so that the family could safely leave the beach. Several of the suspects continued to taunt officers, challenging them to fight. Police said other members of the group began shooting off illegal aerial fireworks in front of officers.
After additional officers arrived from the Toledo Police Department and Lincoln County Parole and Probation, officers moved in on the ‘confrontational and highly intoxicated” group and placed them under arrest.
Gennadiy Kachankov, Antoliy Kachankov, Andrey Zaytsev, Oleg Saranchuk, Ruslan Tkachenko, Yuriy Kachankov, and one man who refused to identify himself, were arrested Saturday and transported to the Lincoln County Jail.
All members of the group were charged with riot, interfering with police, disorderly conduct, harassment, possession of illegal fireworks and offensive littering. Kachankov was also charged with resisting arrest.
Police said the six men who gave their names were cited and released. It's unclear from the Lincoln County Jail's online roster if the seventh man was released.
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