Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says the United States is "slipping into a fascist system" dominated by big government and big businesses.
The Texas congressman held a fiery rally Saturday night across the street from a World War I Memorial, upstaging simultaneous Republican Party banquets being held on both sides of the nearby Missouri and Kansas line.
Paul said the United States got off track during the era of President Woodrow Wilson, who led the nation through World War I and unsuccessfully advocated for the nation's involvement in a forerunner of the United Nations.
Although campaign aides were aware, Paul told reporters after his speech that he did not know his rally was coinciding with long-established Republican Party events.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.