Richmond is preparing for a pro-Confederate monument rally organized by an out-of-state group. The event is scheduled for this Saturday at at the Robert E. Lee Monument. Organizers have refused to cancel despite a ban from the state.
The rally is being organized by The New Confederate States of America, a group whose stated mission is to support Confederate heritage by whatever means necessary. Three of the group’s officers drove to Richmond from Florida Thursday. On Facebook, about 70 people say they’ll attend.
Because nobody has filed any permits, counter-protestors included, police don’t really know what to expect. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney says the city is hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
“I don’t care whether you live here or you’re coming here. The bottom line, we expect you to obey the law. Because I guarantee you, we will enforce it,” said Stoney at a press conference Thursday.
Police will rope off assembly areas and won’t allow anyone in with baseball bats, sticks, shields or helmets. But Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham says that weapons ban won’t include guns.
Organizers say they’ll be armed, but police say they can’t stop them. At a community forum Thursday night, the subject of weapons came up repeatedly.
“I would like to ask for a suggestion of how you recommend counter-protesters protect themselves from being shot on Saturday?” Laney Smith asked Durham.
He responded that the best way to protect yourself, was to stay away.
“The recommendation I would say, and don’t take this the wrong way, is don’t show up. Don’t show up,” Durham said to applause from the crowd.
But some in the audience expressed frustration the city is letting the event happen at all. While Durham says he can’t stop people from exercising their right to assembly, he has learned lessons from Charlottesville.
“The first rock, the first mask that is worn. The first unlawful assembly. We are going to arrest people. We’re going to set the tone,” he said.
Because the Governor has put a temporary halt on rallies at Richmond’s Lee monument, police can arrest anyone who steps onto the state-owned ground.
Both the Mayor and the police chief ask people who have no reason to be out on Monument Avenue Saturday to stay home.
