Swedish black metallers Marduk's show in Oakland, California was canceled "in the name of public safety" last night over concerns from Oakland police that the group would draw anti-fascist protesters. Marduk was supposed to play at the Oakland Metro Opera House. Police say the band has been criticized for glorifying Nazi imagery and anti-Semitism.

Opera house staff disagrees but complied with a request from Oakland police to cancel the performance. A statement published on the Oakland Metro Operhouse Facebook page read: "In the last week we have read interview after interview with Marduk spanning over the last 20 years and found no statements indicating the band are white supremacists, nationalists, or anti-immigrant. That being said, we don't want to subject our security staff, venue staff or the public to violence. Our staff is almost exclusively POC and/or LBGTQ and they have all expressed the desire to work, but as we are getting threats, we just can't risk it. So, in the interest of safety, and because the Oakland Police Department would have insisted anyway, we have canceled the Marduk performance on Feb 18.

"The Oakland Police Department has decided in the interest of public safety that the Marduk show on Saturday, February 18 at the Oakland Metro Operahouse be cancelled. Refunds at point of purchase. We apologize for the inconvenience."

In a letter to the venue, police said that "based on the riot that occurred in Berkeley in regards to Milo Yiannopolous speaking at the university it is reasonable to believe that there would be a threat to public safety if these groups showed up to protest Marduk."

Source:	nbcbayarea.com
Band profile:	Marduk