NATIONAL SECURITY/RACISM: “City officials across the country are nervously trying to figure out how to avoid becoming the next Charlottesville as alt-right leaders and white nationalist groups vow to stage more rallies in coming days.
A group claiming it is advocating free speech has planned a rally for Saturday [8-12-17] on the historic Boston Common, with a group advocating racial justice planning its own gathering in opposition. Boston officials said they have laid down strict conditions, including no sticks, weapons or backpacks.
‘Make no mistake: We do not welcome any hate groups to Boston, and we reject their message,’ Mayor Marty Walsh (D) said Wednesday.
A rally scheduled for Aug. 26 in San Francisco has prompted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) and several California lawmakers to urge the National Park Service to rescind the permit to gather on federal park land there.
Cities also are grappling with what to do about their Confederate monuments, an issue that has suddenly become much more urgent. Some are taking preemptive measures under the cover of night: Four Confederate monuments in Baltimore were hauled away in the early morning darkness Wednesday, and one in Birmingham, Ala., was covered in plywood.
In the wake of the violent public clashes in Charlottesville on Saturday, mayors, governors and other civic leaders are taking steps that even a week ago might not have seemed necessary. But they also are facing uncertain challenges, not knowing whether the white nationalist movement will attract a larger following or where the most turbulent demonstrations may occur.
Violence is at the center of the concerns, and the Charlottesville rally showed law enforcement authorities that they need to be better prepared.”
-Janell Ross, Mark Berman, and Joel Achenbach, “Mayors taking swift action to avoid becoming the next Charlottesville,” The Washington Post online, Aug. 16, 2017 08:57pm