Columbus city officials and the governor of Ohio have spoken out following a march through the streets by a group of armed and masked individuals dressed in black, holding flags that had swastikas emblazoned on them.

According to Columbus WSYX, the unidentified individuals were spotted walking through Short North around 1 p.m. Social media sites were flooded with images and videos of the marchers.

Columbus Police Department said that although individuals in the group were arrested, no arrests had been made. The police said they were initially informed of a potential “physical altercation,” and released detained individuals when it was determined that “an assault had not taken place.”

The police said that the suspects were “armed” with firearms.

“We will not tolerate hate in Ohio,” Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement on the social media platform X on Saturday evening. “Neo-Nazis — their faces hidden behind red masks — roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews. There were reports that they were also espousing white power sentiments.”

He said, “There’s no place for hate, racism, antisemitism, or violence in this state, and we have to denounce it everywhere we see it.”

The Columbus community is against hate and bigotry. We will not tolerate any intimidation, threats or harm to our neighbors because of their religion, who they love, or how they live,” said the City of Columbus in a Saturday evening statement. “We are committed to tolerance and acceptance and draw strength from our differences.” We are a diverse people and that is what allows us to thrive, grow, and achieve new heights. We reject together the cowardly act reported earlier in the Short North. We will continue to monitor this situation with the Columbus Division of Police to ensure safety and security in our city.”

Zach Klein, the Columbus City Attorney, echoed these sentiments in a post on X.

He said: “To the neo-Nazis who marched in the Short North, I say take your masks and flags that you are hiding behind and go home. Never come back.” “Your hatred is not welcome in our town.”

Last week, a group of demonstrators wearing masks were seen waving Nazi banners outside of a performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank”.

There were no arrests and the protesters were asked not to stay.