Canadian Neo-Nazi Convicted Assaulting Jewish Man Nashville 2024

Ryan Scott McCann, a Canadian member of the neo-Nazi hate group Goyim Defense League (GDL), was found guilty of assault with bodily injury and civil rights intimidation for a 2024 attack on a Jewish man in downtown Nashville. The assault occurred in a parking lot near Lower Broadway, where McCann kicked and struck the victim amid a crowd of about 40 other GDL members who had come to Nashville as part of an antisemitic tour. The victim testified that his grandfather was an Ashkenazi Jew who fled Eastern Europe during Hitler's reign, highlighting the antisemitic nature of the attack. McCann's conviction marks the first known Criminal Rights Violation trial in Tennessee, with district attorney Glenn Funk emphasizing that violence and intimidation will not be tolerated. McCann is also facing charges in a separate case for allegedly attacking a bartender with a flagpole, an incident that prompted a lawsuit against the GDL for targeting Jewish people and people of color. The trial and conviction reflect a broader effort by Nashville authorities to hold hate groups accountable for violent actions.