Thread: Knoxville, San Francisco, Berkeley: What to Know About This Weekend’s Alt-Right Prote

Knoxville, San Francisco, Berkeley: What to Know About This Weekend’s Alt-Right Protests

Two weeks after Charlottesville, the country braces for more mayhem.

EDWIN RIOSAUG. 25, 2017 6:00 AM

Tens of thousands of counter protesters attend the Boston Free Speech Rally.Rex Shutterstock/ZUMA

As the nation continues to grapple with the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, right-wing demonstrators and white supremacists plan to descend on cities in California and Tennessee this weekend, with authorities preparing for possible clashes.

Here’s a look at what to watch out for this weekend.

Knoxville, Tennessee

The national debate over Confederate statues is likely to hit eastern Tennessee on Saturday, August 26, when demonstrators are expected to rally against the removal of a monument honoring Confederate soldiers who died at the battle of Fort Sanders.

The Fort Sanders monument has long been the subject of debate, inspiring dueling petitions to save or remove it. Following the violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, the monument had been vandalized and was later cleaned up.

Activists calling for the statue’s removal have an uphill battle ahead of them: Some members of the City Council have said they’d like to keep the statue in place. But, even if council members did want it removed, a state law passed earlier this year says the city would have to request a waiver from Tennessee’s Historical Commission to move the statue.

Saturday’s rally was initiated by Confederate 28, a local white supremacist group with ties to the UK-based neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The Tennessee group had recently ended a five-year hiatus, marking its return in June by protesting a gay pride parade in the state and passing out fliers in Indianapolis, according to SPLC. But it seems the revival might have been short-lived. In a statement on Wednesday to WATE, a local Tennessee news station, a spokesperson for Confederate 28 stated that the group had dissolved “due to internal issues” and no longer had a “hand in the rally.”

US Law Enforcement Leaders Fear Trump Is Fueling Far-Right Terror

The rally, though, still seems set to move forward without the stewardship of Confederate 28. Knoxville police plan to close off streets in the city to form designated areas for demonstrations and officers plan to confiscate weapons, masks, and other items brought into the area that could be potentially used as weapons. Mayor Madeline Rogero noted in a statement Wednesday that Knoxville police would “maintain order and ensure everybody is free to speak their piece” and urged participants to “refrain from antagonism” during “violent times.” Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett also pleaded for safety in a statement on Wednesday, “as out-of-town white supremacists and neo-Nazis head toward eastern Tennessee.” “The racism and hatred of these white supremacists and neo-Nazis don’t reflect our values, and they are not welcome here,” Burchett said.

Counterprotests: A demonstration dubbed “Knoxville Against White Supremacy!” is expected to take place on Saturday as well, though the plan is for it to begin an hour before the whtite supremacist rally. The organizer’s Facebook event pledges a nonviolent demonstration with signs. “It’s nothing like Charlottesville,” Chris Irwin, who helped organize the counterprotest, told WATE. “We’ll be clearly kept apart, but they’re going to be able to clearly hear us and it’s a chance for Knoxville to say, ‘Not in our town.’”

San Francisco

The Oregon-based group Patriot Prayer has organized the “Freedom Rally San Francisco” demonstration for Saturday, August 26, and received a permit earlier this month from the National Park Service to host the event at Crissy Field, a slice of federal land covered by Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee told reporters in a last-minute press conference last week that the city had only recently learned of the permit and demanded the National Park Service reevaluate its decision. He joined the chorus of California politicians from Sen. Dianne Feinstein to House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi in denouncing the rally as inciting “hatred, bigotry, and violence.”

On Wednesday, the National Park Service confirmed the permit for the Patriot Prayer rally. “We cannot deny a permit to anyone planning to exercise their First Amendment rights based on their political stance or beliefs,” said Golden Gate National Recreation Area acting superintendent Cicely Muldoon in a statement.

“We can deny a permit application for public safety reasons if the event raises such significant public safety concerns that law enforcement cannot manage the event.”

In the past, SPLC has connected Patriot Prayer with hate-fueled protests and their events have attracted white nationalists. But Joey Gibson, the founder and organizer for the group, told the Mercury News that their demonstration is concerned with free speech and that his organization is a moderate one that does not welcome white nationalists at their events. Gibson also said that white nationalists Richard Spencer and Nathan Damingo have been barred from the event, though the list of speakers slated for Saturday includes Kyle Chapman, a right-wing provocateur who was arrested on suspicion of assault after he was caught on video hitting an anti-fascist counterprotester on the head with a curtain rod at a March rally in Berkeley, California.

Scott Weiner, the California state senator for San Francisco, told USA Today, “I know they’re trying to portray themselves as being against the white supremacists but from what I can tell that claim rings hollow.”

San Francisco police are expected to have an outsize presence at the rally in an attempt to stamp out the kind of violence seen in Charlottesville. All San Francisco officers are supposed to be on duty for the demonstration. Bill Scott, the city’s police chief, told the Los Angeles Times that he expects officers to keep right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters separated and is looking to last week’s demonstrations in Boston as an example of how authorities can monitor rallies.

“You want to keep the people as peaceful as possible and don’t allow violence to occur,” Scott told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. “Violence isn’t going to be tolerated.” That strong hand might be necessary, given that members of the Oath Keepers, a national militia group, are expected to provide security for the rally. Moreover, some protesters are expected to be carrying California concealed-carry permits for their firearms; while they will not be allowed to bring guns inside the area permitted for the demonstration, they can do so outside the permitted area.

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Items banned from Crissy Field rally, according to SFPD chief: weapons, guns, explosives, helmets, drones, mace, pepper spray, selfie sticks
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Counterprotest: More than a dozen counterdemonstrations and marches are expected to take place this weekend, some at Crissy Field, others elsewhere in the city. City officials will hold a “counter-rally” outside of City Hall at noon on Friday and are encouraging residents to attend a block party at Civic Center on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and a coalition of lefty groups known as “San Francisco Against Hate” are also expected to march to Crissy Field as early as 10 a.m.

Elsewhere, a march is planned from Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco’s Castro District to the city’s Civic Center at noon, along with a mobile dance rally from Dolores Park to the Civic Center.

“The shameful, anti-American trend of hate-filled extremist rallies will unfortunately be allowed to continue this weekend in our city,” Lee said in a statement. “Let us show this nation that San Francisco is a city of peace and unity. Do not engage with the members of this group, whose only priority is to incite violence through divisive rhetoric.”

Hoodline has collected information on more than a dozen events, check it out here.

Berkeley, California

The following day, on Sunday, August 27, an estimated 300 people are supposed to descend on an anti-communist rally, known as “No to Marxism in America,” in Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. The online event’s organizer, Amber Cummings, recently decried white nationalists and called for nonviolent demonstrations; she posted on Facebook, “I myself am a transsexual female who embraces diversity and loves diversity. This event is not a event of hate speech.” Even still, politicians and city officials have expressed concern that the rally could attract far-right agitators, particularly as the location was the site of clashes between right-wing groups and counterdemonstrators earlier this year.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin wrote in a statement last week that the rally, largely organized on Facebook, had not been approved by the city, adding that no permit had been requested or granted. “Put simply, past incidents at Civic Center Park have resulted in significant violence as agitators use the cover of peaceful protesters to attack others, including through the use of explosives,” Arreguin wrote in a separate blog post, alluding to demonstrations in April that turned violent.

In response, the City Council last week approved an emergency resolution that gives the city manager more authority to impose rules on unauthorized events and grants police the power to seize weapons from demonstrators if the rally goes beyond the park. (In other cities like Charlottesville, protesters openly carrying weapons have complicated skirmishes during rallies, making them harder for law enforcement to contain. But California is one of three states and the District of Columbia that generally bar people from openly carrying firearms.)

Meanwhile, Berkeley police will receive assistance from Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies during the demonstrations.

Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern told Reveal last week that officers will work in groups and move from place to place to stamp out areas where they think possible violent activity and property damage might arise.

“We expect extremist groups from all walks of life representing all different points of view,” Ahern told Reveal. “We’re going to do our best to keep the groups separate.”

At a press conference on the steps of Berkeley City Hall on Tuesday, state and local officials condemned hate and called for peace ahead of the planned rallies.

“The planned demonstration by white supremacists represents a fundamental challenge to our community values regardless of how organizers characterize it,” Rep. Barbara Lee said. “Not on our watch are we going to allow hatred and bigotry to permeate our communities.”

Counterprotests: Several are planned, including one known as “Bay Area Rally Against Hate,” which is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Crescent Lawn on UC-Berkeley’s campus. Another, “Resist Racist Violence & Hate in Berkeley,” will be a march from Ohlone Park to Berkeley City Hall.

On Facebook this week, Arreguin has been pushing a city-wide campaign known as “Berkeley Stands United Against Hate,” encouraging residents to go to other events around the city and show that “intolerance, bigotry and racism have no place in our town.” On Wednesday, he urged people not to go to Civic Center Park in the interest of safety. “While I understand people’s strong desire to speak out against racism, bigotry and white supremacism, past alt-right rallies in the park have resulted in violence and we do not want people to be in a dangerous situation,” he wrote on Facebook.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...ight-protests/

BREAKING
In Berkeley, thousands demonstrate, very few from far right; 7 arrests

By Berkeleyside editors Aug. 27, 2017, 9:28 a.m.

After police changed tactics, around 1:30 p.m. protesters, nearly all from the left, flooded into Civic Center Park. Photo: Emilie Raguso

SCROLL DOWN FOR SCHEDULE OF SUNDAY’S EVENTSFor immediate updates follow Berkeleyside on Twitter. #BerkeleySend tips to tips@berkeleyside.com

LIVE BLOG…

1:40 p.m. Anti-hate protesters, including 100-200 black-clad antifa demonstrators wearing masks and bandanas have now flooded into the park after police appeared to make a tactical decision to allow that and to abandon their effort to keep park closed. Police are now massed in front of Veterans building on Center Street. The so-called “zone of separation” is not manned, said Berkeleyside’s Knobel who added he personally “cannot see single pro-Trump supporter” in the park area.

Protesters are chanting “No KKK no fascist USA,” among other things. One pro-Trump supporter was chased down the street by demonstrators wearing black (see our tweeted video below).

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Crowd has taken the park #berkeley #mlkpark
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Crowd just chased Trump supporter out of the park, tore sign, chanting "go home"
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Antifa demonstrators arrive by the hundreds on MLK Way in Berkeley around 1 p.m. Photo: Emilie Raguso1 p.m. A large contingent of antifa demonstrators has arrived on MLK Way and are massing in front of Old City Hall but do not look like they are attempting to enter the park, according to Berkeleyside’s Natalie Orenstein. They are dressed all in black and many are carrying signs reading “Cops and Klan go hand in hand.” Police are standing in front of the barricades, essentially cordoning off the park, according to Berkeleyside’s Lance Knobel.

BPD estimate the crowd numbers 4,000 people, reported on a Nixle alert shortly after 1 p.m. The park itself is mostly empty as protesters converge around it. Conservative and right-wing demonstrators in Civic Center Park are vastly outnumbered by those who say they are protesting hate and white nationalism.

Orenstein estimates there are fewer than 20 of them, just minutes before the “No to Marxism in America” rally was supposed to start. Every time someone with a MAGA hat or pro-Trump cape is spotted, he or she is surrounded and told “Nazis go home,” said Orenstein.

Then they are often chased out of the park. One sign reads, “Avenge Charlottesville. Protect our communities.”

One woman, a former Air Force nurse who traveled up from Los Angeles, and who said she was a Trump supporter, told Berkeleyside’s Rauch she did not feel safe identifying her political beliefs. When asked if she felt safe, she said: “No. That’s why I’m not wearing my Trump gear.” The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she came to the rally to support other Trump supporters. She did not come to spew hate.

She does not believe President Trump is a supporter of the KKK either.

“We’re not against Jews, we’re not against Muslims,” she said. The woman said there are good and bad people on the right and the left.

Several hundred anti-hate demonstrators have arrived at Civic Center Park after marching from Ohlone Park, according to Berkeleyside contributor Melati Citrawireja.

There are two helicopters and at least one drone over the park.

At 1:22 p.m. UCPD put out a Nixle alert saying “tensions were escalating” at Civic Center Park and “people should leave immediately.”

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Most of park is empty except west side where marchers are trying to take #mlkpark #berkeley @berkeleyside
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The scene outside Old City Hall around 1:20 p.m. Photo: Lance Knobel

12:45 p.m. Civic Center Park: Berkeley Police Department spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats reports that there have been seven arrests, most for violation of regulations at Civic Center Park.

Civic Center Park around noon. Photo: Pete Rosos

12 noon Civic Center Park: People are beginning to converge at Civic Center Park. Close to noon, BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) called on people to head to the park to “shut down fascists.” And they have responded: BAMN and progressive protesters are arriving in their hundreds, Berkeleyside’s Lance Knobel reports, including Black Lives Matter supporters.

Tensions are rising. Left-wing protesters far outweigh the far-right demonstrators at this point, by about 20 to one said Knobel.

The police response to this rally is diametrically different than the other rallies that have taken place in Berkeley this year, according to Knobel, who is in Civic Center Park. Instead of standing on the perimeter of the park, police are mingling with the demonstrators and are stepping in at even the slightest hint of an altercation. The police stand back when discussions are happening, but as soon as there is a hint of tension, or a push, or a slap, police are reacting instantly by hauling people away.

Knobel saw police take away a protester who slapped down the iPhone of a person taking a video, as well as one who pushed another.

Police set up large orange barricades in the park to separate the “sides,” but there have proved useless, said Knobel. Everyone is on one side of the barricades, the side near the fountain and City Hall.

There’s a long line of people waiting to be allowed by authorities to get in to Civic Center Park.

Tensions at Civic Center Park around noon. Photo: Pete Rosos

Police make an arrest near Civic Center Park around noon. Photo: Pete Rosos

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Long lines to get into #mlkpark in #berkeley - police are checking bags.
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People are chanting, “Nazi scum off our streets, nazi scum off our streets,” according to Berkeleyside contributing writer Kate Rauch.

Dan, a Trump supporter from San Diego drove up to Berkeley with a small group of like-minded friends. His main message is,”I want to come out here and express my free-speech rights without being attacked,” he told Rauch. He said he’s here to stand for free speech. “I love my country and I’m scared of losing it. “The big threat he says are the anti racists.

They’re going to take our free speech away.” He described today so far as “peaceful” and said he’s happy about this.

11:40 a.m. Oxford Street: A University of California Riverside police officer estimates there are about 3,000 people gathered in the street along Oxford.

Nearly all of the people chose to gather outside the barricades erected around West Crescent. The officer, who did not want to be named, said she has seen officers from nine University of California campuses present this morning. Meanwhile, Berkeleyside contributing photographer David Yee reports that several hundred people are gathered at Hearst and California, presumably for the planned march from Ohlone Park to Civic Center Park.

Watch our Facebook Live footage of speeches being made near Crescent lawn, shot by Berkeleyside reporter Natalie Orenstein.

Crescent lawn around 11:35 a.m. Protesters, estimated to number 3,000, are keeping out of the barricaded areas. Photo: Chris Polydoroff

Outside the (closed) Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Sunday at around 11 a.m., anti-hate demonstrators hold up signs. Photo: Pete Rosos

11:30 a.m. Civic Center Park: So far, very few right-wing demonstrators have made themselves known in Berkeley, although the main right-wing protest was only meant to start at 1 p.m.

Berkeleyside’s Lance Knobel says no more than ten clear Trump supporters have showed up. There are some conversations happening with people from both sides. But generally quiet now. Knobel saw two people being detained, and handcuffed, by police officers, possibly for wearing masks.

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Two people detained in Civic Center Park, apparently for covering their faces. #Berkeley
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A Trump supporter at Civic Center Park aound 11 a.m. Photo: Pete Rosos

11 a.m. Crescent lawn:Berkeleyside’s Emilie Raguso estimates there are up to 1,000 people gathered on and around Oxford Street, north of Addison to University. Most are not in Crescent lawn which is barricaded. Arezu Moshirian hugged police officers to thank them for being there in “a non-menacing way.”

Center Street and Allston Way are closed between Milvia Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way and will likely be closed all day. See a 11:18 a.m. Nixle alert about street closures from BPD.

Arezu Moshirian hugs a police officer at Crescent lawn at 10:55 a.m. Sunday. “I’m here for the children. I appreciate the police being here in a non-menacing way,” she said. Photo: Emilie Raguso

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A worker-owner from Cheese Board collective with an amazing peace sign pretzel #berkeley #crescent
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University of California police officers stand on Center Street near the corner of Oxford St. Sunday morning. UC has brought in officers from far flung campuses, including UCSF and UC Irvine. Photo: by Chris Polydoroff

0:50 a.m. Allston Way: Members of BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) were walking past the main post office on Allston Way with anti-Trump and anti-hate signs.

BAMN supporter carry signs in front of the central post office on Allston Way. Photo: Pete Rosos

BAMN supporter carry signs in front of the central post office on Allston Way. Photo: Pete Rosos

BAMN supporter carry signs in front of the central post office on Allston Way. Photo: Pete Rosos

Civic Center Park around 10:20 a.m. Sunday. Photo: Lance Knobel

10:30 a.m. At Civic Center police out-number everyone else by about 10 to one, reports Berkeleyside’s Lance Knobel. People are being searched before they can enter the park with pat downs and bag searches. Police have created zone of separation with two lines of orange barricades and between the two lines. There are no signs of antifa demonstrators.

“We have a massive amount of resources, most of which you won’t see. I’m hoping people come out and peacefully express their views,” Berkeley Police Chief Andy Greenwood said to Berkeleyside.

According to Berkeleyside contributing photographer David Yee, there are 10 CHP vehicles, mostly SUVs, parked on Hearst, near Grant, with dozens of officers milling about. Three left-wing protesters standing at Hearst and MLK ar redirecting people from the original meeting spot to a new meeting spot, near Grant.

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People who are part of the Rally Against Hate are helping with traffic control at University #Berkeley
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Civic Center Park: thorough searches before you can enter. #Berkeley
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10:25 a.m. The Groucho protesters are out in force near Crescent lawn at Mike’s Bikes.

Groucho demonstrators. Photo: Emilie Raguso

10 a.m. Right before 10 a.m., dozens of people were gathered on Oxford Street, some putting together signs, some briefing others on what was expected to happen, and others just standing around. The coalition that organized the Bay Area Rally Against Hate, trained about 150 people to monitor the event.

Since UCPD police have banned bringing signs on sticks, purses, water bottles as well as other things onto the Crescent lawn, some protesters said they planned to demonstrate on Oxford Street rather than gather on the lawn. Some spoke of crowding onto the street to demonstrate.

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People who are part of the Rally Against Hate are helping with traffic control at University #Berkeley
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Frank Phillips, of the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, said people are massing on Oxford and other streets to close them to cars for safety reasons. He believes police should have closed the street.

“That shouldn’t be our responsibility,” said Phillips. “The fact that we had to do this two weeks after a terrorist attack with a car is disgusting.”

At 9:40 a.m. a University of California police officer stands in a quiet West Crescent area cordoned off by concrete dividers. Photo: Chris Polydoroff

A peaceful sign on the Veteran’s building at Civic Center Park in Berkeley. Photo: Tracey Taylor

Message on the pavement. Photo: Jacquelyn McCormick

The stage is set for a Sunday full of demonstrations in downtown Berkeley, even if nobody really knows what to expect, given confusing messaging from some of the protest organizers.

Authorities have erected barriers at the two main rally venues: Civic Center Park and UC Berkeley’s Crescent lawn on Oxford Street. Police and some demonstrators were already in place Sunday morning around 8:30 a.m. at both locations. AC Transit buses are on detour in downtown Berkeley and there are many parking restrictions.

Berkeleyside will launch its live blog of today’s events here. We’ll get going soon. Meantime below is a schedule of the events planned for today. And note the rules for demonstrators at both venues:

City of Berkeley rules issued for Civic Center Park.
UC Police rules for Crescent Lawn (note no bags or backpacks, water bottles, except factory-sealed clear plastic bottles.)

Schedule of Sunday’s events (note some details may change):

• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Civic Center Park: All Out Against Trump
• 10:30 a.m. UC Campus, Oxford & Addison, Bay Area Rally Against Hate
• 11 a.m. Ohlone Park, MLK and Hearst (march to Old City Hall) — Resist Racist Violence and Hate
• Noon to 1 p.m.: Civic Center Park, Protest the White Supremacist Rally: Communities Against Racism & Fascism
• 12:30 p.m., 2345 Channing Way, First Church, Interfaith Response, sing and march to old City Hall.
• 1-5 p.m. No to Marxism in America rally, Civic Center Park (Organizer Amber Cummings has told people not to attend and that she will be there alone. But protesters are expected, including Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, who said Saturday he would attend.

Read complete Berkeleyside coverage of the Berkeley protests.

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/08/...emonstrations/

Pro-Confederate rally draws counterprotest in Knoxville, Tenn.



Yahoo News Photo Staff August 26, 2017


An estimated 400 counter-demonstrators gathered in Knoxville, Tennessee to protest less than two dozen demonstrators at a white separatist rally at the Fort Sanders Confederate memorial, which some have called to remove, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported.

Police officers and barricades separated the two sides.

One organizer carried a sign reading, “Stand Against Leftist Hate” to the hisses and boos of counter-protesters, the paper reported. Photos showed them holding Confederate flags.

A woman who was not yet identified was arrested when she attempted to crash the counter-protester side late Saturday afternoon, according to local media. (Reuters)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pro-confe...233130730.html

10 arrested as clashes break out during Berkeley protests

Police: Fights break out as 4,000 people protest in city

Updated: 3:35 PM PDT Aug 27, 2017

BERKELEY, Calif. (KCRA) —Ten people were arrested Sunday as protesters and counterprotesters marched through Berkeley to a downtown park for a rally, police said.

The people were arrested for "various violations thus far," Berkeley police said.

RELATED CONTENT

• PHOTOS: Clashes break out during Berkeley protests

Three of the people detained had violated the no-mask rule, KCRA reporter Mike Luery said. One woman arrested had allegedly assaulted a photographer, KCRA reporter Vicki Gonzalez said. Two men were arrested after exchanging blows. The SFGate reported they were quickly swept up by officers inside Civic Center Park.

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"Get out of Berkeley!" Crowd chants as police make one arrest for assault in Berkeley. http://nbcbay.com/6GtSGQH
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Police detained Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson at the protests. The SFGate reported he was handcuffed after being chased by a mob of demonstrators who took swings at him and pepper sprayed him.

Around 2:30 p.m., thousands of protesters streamed out of Civic Center Park and started marching north on Martin Luther King Way, police said.

About 4,000 people converged at the park as clashes broke out between right-wing and left-wing groups, police said.

"We have received reports of several fights breaking out," police said in a statement Sunday afternoon. "As a reminder, please separate yourself from any violence so that police can direct their resources as needed."

MORE: See photos of the protests from ground, sky

People part of the Bay Area Rally Against Hate marched from the UC Berkeley campus to Civic Center Park Sunday morning.

The event is one of several rallies that had been called for Sunday in Berkeley, a day after a controversial freedom rally planned by Gibson in San Francisco fizzled amid throngs of counterprotesters.

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Bay Area Rally Against Hate begins, hundreds marching from @UCBerkeley to Civic Center Plaza in response to Anti-Marxist rally @kcranews
10:23 AM - Aug 27, 2017· University of California, Berkeley

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In a statement early Sunday, the group said "we fully intend to move forward with (the Rally Against Hate)" on the university campus despite calls by the university police department for people to stay away for safety reasons.

A right-wing rally, billed as "No To Marxism in America", was initially called for Sunday afternoon but then canceled over the weekend.

Organizer Amber Cummings said that Berkeley officials and left-wing extremists made it impossible to hold the event and she would be the sole attendee.

However, Sunday morning hundreds of counter-protesters showed up in response to the march.

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Despite "No to Marxism in America" rally being canceled, hundreds of counter-demonstrators transform Oxford St outside UC Berkeley @kcranews
10:44 AM - Aug 27, 2017· University of California, Berkeley

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By 1 p.m., the crowd had grown from hundreds to thousands.

A skirmish broke out between several dozen left-wing demonstrators and a handful of right-wing supporters.

The skirmish was tense but ended quickly.

The left-wing protesters surrounded the small number of right-wing supporters, then shouted at them and pushed them. The right-wing protesters sought protection from police and were escorted away.

Police had set up barricades in the downtown Berkeley park in preparation for possible demonstrations by the right-wing and left-wing groups.

Police with bomb-sniffing dogs checked the grounds of Civic Center Park early Sunday, San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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Strong police presence with hundreds of officers for today's protest rallys in Berkeley.
10:20 AM - Aug 27, 2017

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Berkeley police put into place several rules in response the protests, stating, "To ensure the peaceful expression of free speech, the City of Berkeley will be prohibiting sticks, pipes, poles and anything else that can be used for a 'riot' at Civic Center Park."

Other banned items include explosives, pepper spray, axes, dogs (except for service animals), eggs, torches and more.

Police also said anything that "covers or partially covers the face and shields the wearer's face from view, or partially from view, is prohibited."

However, protesters with an anti-fascists group arrived at the park wearing masks and hoods that covered their faces.

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Antifah is here covering their faces with masks and hoods.
12:57 PM - Aug 27, 2017

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The protesters pushed their way past police barricades and into Civic Center Park. They assaulted at least three people by punching and kicking them.

Police broke up the fights, using what appeared to be a smoke grenade to stop one scuffle. The three people who were attacked ran behind police lines to escape.

Numerous road closures are in place as the demonstrations continued into Sunday afternoon

Stay with KCRA 3 as this story develops

http://www.kcra.com/article/officers...tests/12102667

Why are the supposed right wing people protesting?

Why are they playing right into the hands of the news media?

If they would stay home, it would have to die.

Again, how many government 'assets' are encouraging it.

Just me, but walking around, holding up signs has never looked like the way to get anything accomplished.

It's fodder for the news media - I wish they would stop.

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