Permit approved for 'Free Speech' rally on Boston Common
Boston's Parks and Recreation Department has approved a permit for the controversial "Free Speech" rally on Boston Common this Saturday.
Following the violent clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville last weekend, many in Boston have asked that the rally not go forward.
Organizers of the rally are part of a group called "Boston Free Speech." Newton native John Medlar, 23, said the event aims to advocate for free speech, and should not be compared to the "Unite the Right" rally that took place in Virginia.
"I would say this contrasts to Charlottesville. We're trying to get people to stop fighting and start listening," Medlar said. "The fringes on the left and right do not respect free speech."
Medlar said the group will use the right of free association to separate themselves from any hate groups that could show up on Saturday: "that includes standing up against white supremacists, radical leftist groups." He added that the Free Speech promoters "categorically oppose groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, and so forth."
Speakers Gavin McInnes and Augustus Invictus - both far right-wingers who enjoy the support of white nationalists - have announced they are dropping out of the Boston rally. McInnes is the co-founder of Vice and founder of the chauvinist "Western fraternal organization" called Proud Boys, whose members made a showing in Charlottesville.
Medlar said the speakers pulled out in all of the "panic and confusion" and "high emotions" following the events in Charlottesville.
"Hate will not be tolerated in our City," Mayor Marty Walsh said earlier this week. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker spoke at an event in front of the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston on Tuesday, after the memorial was vandalized for a second time this summer.
Walsh repeated he does not want any far right-wing protestors in Boston, which "Proud Boy" McInnes told Boston Herald Radio is a political maneuver.
"He is calling this a Nazi thing. He is going to let a riot happen and tell the police to stand down. I can tell the Mayor is going to make sure we are endangered...it is a common political tactic," McInnes said.
A large counter-protest, which Mayor Walsh has said should be referred to as a peaceful rally, is expected to take place at the same time as the Free Speech event. Thousands of people have shown interest in the "Fight Supremacy! Boston Counter-Protest & Resistance Rally" on Facebook.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said his department is prepared for the rally.
"I don't like the idea of them coming to the city a week after what happened in Charlottesville," Evans told MassLive. But, he added, "We've handled much larger protests."
Boston Police have not announced any road closures around Boston Common on Saturday.
Following the violent clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville last weekend, many in Boston have asked that the rally not go forward.
Organizers of the rally are part of a group called "Boston Free Speech." Newton native John Medlar, 23, said the event aims to advocate for free speech, and should not be compared to the "Unite the Right" rally that took place in Virginia.
"I would say this contrasts to Charlottesville. We're trying to get people to stop fighting and start listening," Medlar said. "The fringes on the left and right do not respect free speech."
Medlar said the group will use the right of free association to separate themselves from any hate groups that could show up on Saturday: "that includes standing up against white supremacists, radical leftist groups." He added that the Free Speech promoters "categorically oppose groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, and so forth."
Speakers Gavin McInnes and Augustus Invictus - both far right-wingers who enjoy the support of white nationalists - have announced they are dropping out of the Boston rally. McInnes is the co-founder of Vice and founder of the chauvinist "Western fraternal organization" called Proud Boys, whose members made a showing in Charlottesville.
Medlar said the speakers pulled out in all of the "panic and confusion" and "high emotions" following the events in Charlottesville.
"Hate will not be tolerated in our City," Mayor Marty Walsh said earlier this week. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker spoke at an event in front of the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston on Tuesday, after the memorial was vandalized for a second time this summer.
Walsh repeated he does not want any far right-wing protestors in Boston, which "Proud Boy" McInnes told Boston Herald Radio is a political maneuver.
"He is calling this a Nazi thing. He is going to let a riot happen and tell the police to stand down. I can tell the Mayor is going to make sure we are endangered...it is a common political tactic," McInnes said.
A large counter-protest, which Mayor Walsh has said should be referred to as a peaceful rally, is expected to take place at the same time as the Free Speech event. Thousands of people have shown interest in the "Fight Supremacy! Boston Counter-Protest & Resistance Rally" on Facebook.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said his department is prepared for the rally.
"I don't like the idea of them coming to the city a week after what happened in Charlottesville," Evans told MassLive. But, he added, "We've handled much larger protests."
Boston Police have not announced any road closures around Boston Common on Saturday.
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