Seven people were stabbed when members of a “neo-Nazi” extremist group clashed with counterprotesters during a rally outside the California state Capitol Sunday, authorities said.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey said that at least two people had critical injuries.

“There was a large number of people carrying sticks and rushing to either get into the melee or see what was going on,” Harvey said.

Members of the Traditionalist Worker Party — a self-identified white nationalist group — were getting set to rally on the west steps of the Capitol building at around noon local time when they were met by a large group of anti-fascists.

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The TWP said on its Web site that the rally was a “protest against globalization and in defense of the right to free expression.”

Members of the group were greatly outnumbered by the counterprotesters, who held up signs that read “Nazi scum,” according to social-media photos.

TWP Chairman Matthew Heimbach said that his group organized the rally along with a group called Golden State Skinheads, and blamed the violence on “leftist radicals,” according to the LA Times. He added that one of his group’s members had been stabbed in the neck, but that the others injured were with the counterprotestors.

WARNING: Graphic content

Sean Moore, 23, of Sacramento waits for medics with a friends after being stabbed by protesters at the State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Renee C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee via AP Paramedics rush a stabbing victim away on a gurney. AP An injured anti-fascist protester lies on the ground with fellow demonstrators. AP An "anti-fascist" protester confronts a man. Reuters Anti-fascist counter-protestors parade through Sacramento after multiple people were stabbed during a clash between neo-Nazis holding a permitted rally and counter-protestors on Sunday at the state capitol in Sacramento, California. Reuters Sacramento Police officers gather after multiple people were stabbed during a clash between neo-Nazis holding a permitted rally and counter-protesters. Reuters Sacramento Police officers follow counter-protestors after multiple people were stabbed. Reuters Bloody bandages and police tape lay on the lawn of the California State Capitol. Reuters Ad Up Next Close Braves send punchless Mets staggering into brutal stretch ATLANTA — The tune-up is over, so now the Mets... 8 View Slideshow Back Continue Share this: Facebook

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