Right-Wing Groups Plan California Rallies In Wake Of Charlottesville
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – In the wake of the weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, San Francisco officials are preparing for a planned right-wing rally and possible counter protest at Crissy Field later this month.
The right-wing, pro-Trump group Patriot Prayer has been granted a permit for a rally on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m., according to National Park Service spokeswoman Sonja Hanson.
"By law we have to grant First Amendment permits," Hanson said.
The pro-Trump group Patriot Prayer, which has been described as an "alt-right" group by hate group watchdog the Southern Poverty Law Center, has dubbed its event "Free Speech, Unity and Peace San Francisco."
The group, organized by Joey Gibson, also held an event in Seattle on Sunday, only a day after a rally by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia ended with a man allegedly driving a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and sending dozens of others to the hospital.
Gibson has disavowed that attack in public statements.