Pictures of the Year: A picture and its story
Supporters of the National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist political group, give Nazi salutes while taking part in a swastika burning at an undisclosed location in Georgia, U.S. on April 21, 2018. Reuters photographer Go Nakamura: "I never fathomed capturing this image. Earlier in the day, I had been covering a very uneventful white supremacy rally in Newnan, Georgia, run by a neo-Nazi group called National Socialist Movement, the same group involved in the infamous Charlottesville rally in 2017. A couple of colleagues told me that the group might hold some sort of secret ritual outside of town afterwards. Together, we approached the head of the movement who granted us permission to document the ritual. After waiting for several hours, we reached the backyard of a bar in the middle of nowhere where we saw a big wooden swastika and cross set up on the ground. Then, a group of some 15 neo-Nazis lit up their torches as they encircled the swastika and performed a Nazi salute. It was surreal. Adrenalin was rushing through my body, but I remained focused on capturing what was unfolding in front of my eyes. The ritual reached its climax when the group lined up in front of the burning swastika and began chanting and performing a final salute. We left immediately after it ended. As we drove away, I set about unravelling the tangle of emotions I experienced that day that led to this photo." REUTERS/Go Nakamura SEARCH "POY STORY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2018 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.