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Charlottesville Wounds Still Fresh, Boston Girds for Dueling Protests Charlottesville Wounds Still Fresh, Boston Girds for Dueling Protests
(about 2 hours later)
BOSTON — Thousands of people gathered at Boston Common on Saturday as this city braced for demonstrations that, one week after fatal violence erupted in Virginia, could draw free speech advocates, white nationalists and counterprotesters. BOSTON — Thousands of demonstrators, emboldened and unnerved by the fatal eruption of violence in Virginia last weekend, surged into the nation’s streets and parks on Saturday to denounce white supremacy and Nazism.
A few thousand people — most of whom appeared prepared to demonstrate against Nazism and white supremacy — had descended on the well-guarded Common by midmorning, and tensions increased as noontime neared. Pockets of protesters held forth as large masses of counterdemonstrators shouted them down. A Boston rally to promote “free speech” was unamplified, undercut by police planning and starved by an enormous buffer zone between protesters and their opponents.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” some in the crowd shouted as Massachusetts state troopers, clad in bright yellow vests, used their bikes to hold back the crowd. “No Nazis! No K.K.K.! No fascist U.S.A.!” The demonstrations that began late Friday and spread into Saturday were broadly peaceful, even as tensions and worries coursed through protests that unfolded from Boston Common, the nation’s oldest public park, to Hot Springs, Ark., to the bridges that cross the Willamette River in Portland, Ore. Other protests were expected on Saturday in Chicago, Dallas and Houston.
The dueling demonstrations in Boston, along with rallies expected over the weekend in a handful of other cities, come at an extraordinarily tense moment, a week after violence broke out in Charlottesville, Va., and as a national debate unfolds over questions of race, violence and the fate of Confederate symbols. “This city has a history of fighting back against oppression, whether it’s dumping tea in the harbor or a bunch of dudes standing around with bandannas screaming at neo-Nazis,” said a 21-year-old protester in Boston who would only identify himself as “Frosty” and wore an American flag to obscure much of his face.
Here, in a city accustomed to frequent demonstrations on Boston Common, the nation’s oldest public park, no one seemed certain what to expect on Saturday. City officials said they would enforce a policy of zero tolerance for violence, and police officers ringed the area on Saturday. Saturday’s demonstrations, one week after a 32-year-old woman died amid clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va., came at a fraught moment for a nation again confronting questions about race, violence and the standing of Confederate symbols. President Trump, who has faced unyielding, and bipartisan, criticism after he said there was “blame on both sides” in Charlottesville, was publicly silent about Saturday’s protests.
Law enforcement officials were on alert, wary of being seen as irresolute and ineffective after the protests in Virginia turned fatal when someone drove a car through a crowd of protesters. Officers patrolled on bicycles, on foot and from helicopters. In some instances, officers dressed in riot gear faced off with demonstrators and tried to maintain order.
The epicenter of the weekend’s demonstrations appeared to be here in Boston, where the Common was the expected setting for raucous, dueling protests, including one that the Boston Free Speech Coalition organized before the Charlottesville violence.
But supporters of the free speech rally that had been scheduled for noon appeared subsumed by thousands of counter-protesters, many of whom marched toward the Common from the Roxbury neighborhood. As the minutes ticked by on a Boston Saturday that began with fog but became hot and sticky, counterdemonstrators shouted “Scum! Scum!”
Earlier, the counterprotesters had shouted down their opponents — “No Nazis! No K.K.K.! No fascist U.S.A.!” — as Massachusetts state troopers used their bikes to keep rival demonstrators apart. City officials had said they would enforce a policy of zero tolerance for violence.
“If anything gets out of hand,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said on Friday, “we will shut it down.”“If anything gets out of hand,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said on Friday, “we will shut it down.”
Other protests were expected around the country this weekend on the heels of the deadly rally in Charlottesville, where white supremacists led a protest that deteriorated into one of the bloodiest confrontations to date over the removal of a Confederate monument. A woman, Heather D. Heyer, was killed when a car was driven into a crowd of counterprotesters. Although the Boston Free Speech Coalition’s rally had been planned before the chaos in Charlottesville, and although organizers said they were appealing to “libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists, classical liberals, Trump supporters or anyone else who enjoys their right to free speech,” critics feared that the rally would be a haven for white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
In Hot Springs, Ark., demonstrators on Saturday were expected to rally in support of preserving monuments to Confederate history. In Dallas, demonstrators said they would meet on Saturday night to protest white supremacy, and other demonstrations in opposition to white supremacy were announced for cities such as Chicago and Houston. The rally unraveled by about 12:50 p.m. The bandstand emptied, officials removed flags tied to the free speech rally and the crowd of counterprotesters sang, “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”
On Friday evening, several hundred people gathered in downtown Portland, Ore., for an “Eclipse Hate” rally. Later, others joined in, and more than 1,000 protesters marched on downtown streets, chanting: “No K.K.K. N fascist U.S.A. No Trump.” Rondre Brooks, 36, who said he had traveled from Detroit for the counter-demonstration, said he was pleased to see the apparent early end of the free speech rally. “It’s a very good look for America as a whole,” he said.
The march was loud but relatively peaceful. Protesters swarmed two of the city’s bridges, halting traffic in both directions. At one point, they chanted: ”Whose bridge? Our bridge.” Then protesters returned quietly to where the rally had started. But another man, who said he supported the speech rally and gave his name, after some hesitation, as Matt Staley, interjected to ask if those demonstrating in support of free speech were not Americans, too.
The Dallas event on Saturday comes with added emotion and strain. Thirteen months ago, a gunman fired on officers in downtown Dallas at a demonstration against police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. Five officers were killed in the deadliest attack on law enforcement in America since Sept. 11, 2001. The ambush began blocks from City Hall Plaza, the site of the rally on Saturday. “I think it’s awful that people can’t speak out to express opinions,” Mr. Staley said.
Dallas officials said they planned to form a barricade around the demonstration site using buses and heavy equipment in an attempt to “lock down” the area and prevent any cars from getting too close to the crowd. The counterprotesters descended on the Common for hours before the planned rally, and they found fliers showing symbols of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. The leaflet, which protesters appeared to have prepared, urged people to “learn to identify these symbols and let anyone displaying them know that they are not welcome in our city!”
Here, a Boston Free Speech Coalition rally was to begin at noon on the Common. The demonstration was scheduled before the deadly clash in Charlottesville, and its organizers with the Boston Free Speech Coalition have denounced the violence there and said they had no connection with it. Rather, they say, they are appealing to “libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists, classical liberals, Trump supporters or anyone else who enjoys their right to free speech.” “Boston is an anti-fascist zone!” it added.
Yet some who attended the demonstration in Charlottesville last weekend were expected to be here, though others have dropped out, citing security concerns. “Charlottesville is what forced me out here,” said Rose Fowler, a retired teacher who is black and was among the people who had gathered to march from Roxbury toward the Common, about two miles away. “Somebody killed for fighting for me. What is wrong with me if I can’t fight for myself and others?”
Kyle Chapman, who founded a group of right-wing vigilantes called the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, was among those expected to speak here. Although the protests in Boston were expected to be among the weekend’s largest, several hundred people gathered on Friday evening in Portland for an “Eclipse Hate” rally. The protest soon swelled to more than 1,000 people, many of whom used chants that demonstrators used in Boston on Saturday morning.
“It is estimated that 10,000 #AltLeft Terrorist will be protesting and potentially attacking us,” he wrote on Facebook, using his nickname, Based Stickman. “We all knew this time was coming. Honor your ancestors. Defend our Republic. This event is for the brave. Cowards stay home.” The demonstrators swarmed two of Portland’s bridges, halting traffic in both directions and chanting “Whose bridge? Our bridge!”
In addition, news reports circulated Friday that some members of the Ku Klux Klan planned to attend, though they said they would remain inconspicuous. In Arkansas on Saturday morning, a small demonstration supporting Confederate symbols drew about 50 people in Hot Springs. A small group of opponents walked by occasionally, denouncing Mr. Trump and racial hatred.
The Boston Free Speech Coalition said it would “not be offering a platform to hatred and bigotry.” And John Medlar, a spokesman for the group, said it would not allow its platform “to be hijacked by the K.K.K.” Law enforcement officials made extensive plans for the weekend’s demonstrations. In Dallas, where a gunman killed five police officers who were protecting a protest in July 2016, the authorities planned to form a barricade around Saturday’s demonstration site with buses and heavy equipment to “lock down” the area and keep any cars from drawing too close to the crowd.
The Boston police, who have worked intensely over the last week to prepare, said they would be out in force with perhaps 500 officers, some of them under cover. Multiple security cameras are already in place, they said. And officers in riot gear will be nearby in case they are needed, William B. Evans, the police commissioner, said Friday. The Boston authorities cleared the Common of vendors and their carts, and they shut down the Swan Boats, a major tourist attraction in the nearby Public Garden. Marchers were banned from bringing weapons, bats, sticks, flagpoles or anything that might be used as a weapon or a projectile, and backpacks were subject to search.
Officials cleared the Common of vendors and their carts, and they were shutting down the Swan Boats, a major tourist attraction in the nearby Public Garden. Marchers were banned from bringing weapons, bats, sticks, flagpoles or anything that might be used as a weapon or a projectile, and backpacks will be subject to search. Boston’s approach to the day’s protests represented something of a balancing act. Mr. Walsh, the mayor, said the city had consulted the Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery, Ala.-based group that monitors extremist behavior, on how to handle hate groups. He said the center warned that “interacting with them gives them a platform to spread their message of hate” and that it recommended that people “not confront” them.
The permit for the free speech rally confines the group to the Parkman Bandstand, where the police have set up metal barricades. The permit said that perhaps 100 “free speech” marchers would attend, but Facebook postings suggest that many more could show up.
Robert Trestan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s New England office, said the Boston Free Speech Coalition appeared to be more “alt-light” than “alt-right,” but, he added, the language it used appealed to bigots and white supremacists.
“In the aftermath of Charlottesville,” he said, “they have a very large platform with a very big spotlight on their message.”
Mr. Walsh, the mayor, said the city had consulted the Southern Poverty Law Center on how to handle hate groups. He said the center warned that “interacting with them gives them a platform to spread their message of hate” and that it recommended that people “not confront” them.
“So we’re urging everyone to stay away from the Common,” Mr. Walsh said. “At the same time, we can’t look away.”“So we’re urging everyone to stay away from the Common,” Mr. Walsh said. “At the same time, we can’t look away.”
The mayor had begun the week by telling hate groups they were not welcome in Boston. By Friday, he acknowledged their right to assemble and express their views.The mayor had begun the week by telling hate groups they were not welcome in Boston. By Friday, he acknowledged their right to assemble and express their views.
“The courts have made it abundantly clear they have the right to gather, no matter how repugnant their views are, but they don’t have the right to create unsafe conditions,” Mr. Walsh said. “So we’re going to respect their right of free speech, and in return they must respect our city.”“The courts have made it abundantly clear they have the right to gather, no matter how repugnant their views are, but they don’t have the right to create unsafe conditions,” Mr. Walsh said. “So we’re going to respect their right of free speech, and in return they must respect our city.”
As the demonstrations neared, the area around Boston Common included fliers showing symbols of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. The leaflet, which protesters appeared to have prepared, urged people to “learn to identify these symbols and let anyone displaying them know that they are not welcome in our city!”
“Boston is an anti-fascist zone!” it added.
Part of the police strategy is to keep the free speech rally separate from those joining the counterprotest, which will consist of several groups.
An estimated 10,000 people were expected to march with groups such as Black Lives Matter and Occupy Boston under the umbrella name of “Fight Supremacy! Boston Counter-Protest & Resistance Rally.”
“Charlottesville is what forced me out here,” said Rose Fowler, a retired teacher who is black and was among the people who had gathered to march from Roxbury toward the Common, about two miles away. “Somebody killed for fighting for me. What is wrong with me if I can’t fight for myself and others?”
Monica Cannon, an organizer of the counterprotest and the founder of a local anti-violence group, said 10,000 people had indicated on Facebook that they intended to be there, but plans were being made for many more.
“When we heard that the nationalists had planned a free speech rally here, we were like, ‘No, not in our city,’ ” Ms. Cannon said.
She said she believed that anti-fascist demonstrators — a loose affiliation of radical activists known as antifa who have openly scuffled and sparred with white supremacists and right-wing extremists — would be present. But she added that she could not speak to their plans.
“They stand alone,” she said.
Still, tensions here have been rising all week. On Monday night, a teenager threw a rock at the New England Holocaust Memorial, shattering the glass; passers-by quickly tackled the youth before the police arrived.Still, tensions here have been rising all week. On Monday night, a teenager threw a rock at the New England Holocaust Memorial, shattering the glass; passers-by quickly tackled the youth before the police arrived.
And with the national spotlight on the debate over Confederate monuments in the South, John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, said he was “haunted” by the racist legacy of his predecessor, Tom Yawkey, who resisted integrating the ball club long after every other club in Major League Baseball had hired black players. Mr. Henry said he wanted to lead an effort to rename Yawkey Way, a public street outside Fenway Park, “in light of the country’s current leadership stance with regard to intolerance.”And with the national spotlight on the debate over Confederate monuments in the South, John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, said he was “haunted” by the racist legacy of his predecessor, Tom Yawkey, who resisted integrating the ball club long after every other club in Major League Baseball had hired black players. Mr. Henry said he wanted to lead an effort to rename Yawkey Way, a public street outside Fenway Park, “in light of the country’s current leadership stance with regard to intolerance.”
Duke University announced early Saturday that it had removed a recently vandalized statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the entrance to its campus chapel in Durham, N.C.Duke University announced early Saturday that it had removed a recently vandalized statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the entrance to its campus chapel in Durham, N.C.
“I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university,” Vincent E. Price, the university’s president, said in an email to students, employees and alumni.“I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university,” Vincent E. Price, the university’s president, said in an email to students, employees and alumni.
Dr. Price said the statue would be “preserved so that students can study Duke’s complex past and take part in a more inclusive future.”Dr. Price said the statue would be “preserved so that students can study Duke’s complex past and take part in a more inclusive future.”