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Canadian neo-Nazi indicted on new charges, accused of July 2024 assault of Jewish man in Nashville

Ryan Scott McCann was previously charged with using the flagpole of his swastika flag to assault a Nashville bartender downtown. The new charges stem from a previously unreported incident.
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Ryan Scott McCann.jpeg

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Canadian neo-Nazi faces new assault and civil rights intimidation charges in conjunction with a previously unreported altercation on the streets of Nashville last summer.

Ryan Scott McCann, 29, a member of the neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League (GDL) who is awaiting trial for a July 14 assault on a Nashville bartender with the pole for his swastika flag, was just indicted by the Davidson County grand jury on the new charges.

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Members of the Goyim Defense League brawl with a Nashville bartender during a previously reported altercation in July 2024

Metro police said detectives became aware of a second altercation — this one, late on July 13 — between McCann and a 20-year-old Jewish man from Clarksville as the victim stood in a parking lot on 10th Avenue South where GDL members had gathered.

"The investigation shows that he was antagonized and taunted by members of GDL," according to a statement from Metro Nashville police.

"During the altercation, McCann took off his fanny pack and claimed not to know how to fight. While the 20-year-old was standing in front of him, McCann attempted a spinning elbow strike toward the victim’s neck/head. The 20-year-old tried to get away, resulting in McCann kicking him at least two separate times."

Metro police took McCann back into custody Wednesday as he was working downtown as a painter, and a Criminal Court judge set an additional $50,000 bond on the suspect.

He had been released on the previous charge under the condition that he wear an ankle bracelet and not leave Davidson County until his trial.

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Ryan Scott McCann in court

McCann is one of three members of the Goyim Defense League to be arrested here since July.

In September, Texas member David Aaron Bloyed was arrested on federal charges for making an online threat to kill Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk.

Last month, GDL member Travis Keith Garland was arrested for an antisemitic stunt he pulled at Nashville's Gordon Jewish Community Center. Garland is charged with civil rights intimidation, assault and criminal trespassing.

All three men currently remain in custody.

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Do you have information that would help me with my investigation? Send me your tips: phil.williams@newschannel5.com

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