Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi wants the National Park Service to withdraw a permit for an alt-right rally at Crissy Field at Golden Gate National Recreation Area/NPS
Editor's note: This updates with statement from Golden Gate NRA acting General Superintendent Cicely Muldoon.
National Park Service officials, cognizant of concern over a "prayer First Amendment" event at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, are reviewing the situation and will decide in the coming week whether to let the event proceed.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has asked the Park Service to withdraw a permit for the alt-right rally scheduled for August 26 at Crissy Field, part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco.
“I am deeply alarmed by the hateful and dangerous nature of the event, its timing so soon after the horrors in Charlottesville, and the serious questions over whether the National Park Service is at all equipped to ensure public safety during a white supremacist rally," the Democrat said. "The NPS should reevaluate its decision and its capacity to protect the public during such a toxic rally.
"We must wonder, where is the decision to permit a white supremacist rally in a national park being made? At the National Park Service? In the Department of the Interior? Or under guidance from the White House?," she added.
Thursday evening Golden Gate's acting general superintendent, Cicely Muldoon, issued a statement acknowledging the concerns.
We have heard and take very seriously the concerns expressed by the public and elected officials regarding the proposed August 26 Patriot Prayer First Amendment event at Crissy Field. Our highest priority is to ensure public safety, while honoring our obligation to uphold one of our nation’s most cherished Constitutional rights, the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
We are guided by the Constitution, the law, longstanding court precedent, and National Park Service policy, which tells us we must be deliberative and not preemptive in our decisions related to First Amendment gatherings. Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the U.S. Park Police are closely coordinating with other federal, state and local agencies to ensure a robust plan is in place before we issue a final permit.
We want to thank everyone for expressing their heartfelt opinions and valid concerns. Anyone interested in expressing their opinion may do so by writing us at [email protected]. We are reviewing all comments, but we are not able to respond to everyone due to the large volume we are receiving.
We will make a final determination on the permit within the next seven business days based on the thorough public safety review. We will make a public announcement of our decision at that time.
The Park Service in the past has allowed rallies by the Ku Klux Klan at Gettsysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Early last month such a rally brought several hundred armed militia members to Gettysburg to rally in support of the park's Confederate statues and symbols. No violence broke out, but one of the militia members shot himself in the leg.
Rep. Pelosi, though, didn't think it prudent to allow for such a rally at Crissy Field.
“Perhaps those making the decision did not know that Crissy Field is a place where families gather, where tourists visit, and the community comes together. Free speech does not grant the right to yell fire in a crowded theater, incite violence or endanger the public in any venue," she said.
Comments
Protests, counter protests they are ALL protected. (firearms are a different matter of course, SF and CA have very strict rules on those) The government shouldn't be deciding who to issue permits to based on content, any content, ever. Yesterdays's permissible content is todays verboten, what happens tomorrow. No no no.
This kind of freedom, and that's what it is, doesn't happen in any other country, even Canada or the UK, and god help us if it starts happening here.
Counter-protests aren't specifically illegal, and in no way should they be. However, a competent law enforcement presence should separate the counter-protesters from those they're protesting. Legally, the permits are generally needed if anyone is going to block a road or use amplification.
Lest I be misunderstood I am not advocating outlawing any views or protests, just not at the same time at the same venue. I don't see what harm that would cause. I'd go with your idea of just keeping the groups separate but don't think that is a realistic expectation.
I agree Kurt, Antifa was looking for a fight. The only ones I saw with semi-auto weapons was an independent militia. If Antifa and the the press had stayed home, it would have been a non-event. I condemn the bigotry, hate and violence on both sides. I just note that one side had a permit to march. The otherside showed up without a permit to be confrontational. What was Antifa's purpose for showing other than "looking for a fight'? Wild is spot on.
Once they issue a First Amendment permit, NPS is in an untenable position to deny another First Amendment permit for a counter-protest. Counter-protests are pretty standard when there's some sort of rally. If it's not specifically organized and stays on the sidewalk, it's generally not illegal. NPS does have different rules, but if people are arriving to counter-protest independently, there's hardly anything NPS can do, and they typically issue permits for counter-protests. I suppose NPS deals with it on a regular basis at the National Mall.
This is kind of straying from discussing NPS related issues, but what are you talking about? Aren't you just parroting Trump? Yes there was violence on both sides to some degree, but anyone who looks at it would be hard pressed to believe that they didn't plan this rally in Charlottesville knowing full well that the press was going to be there and that there would the possibility of a violent response. Why else would they be wearing baseball helmets and sports gear and outfitting themselves with various weapons? Why did some approach a church during a worship service with torches chanting "blood and soil", "you will not replace us", and "Jews will not replace us". That wasn't a protest. It certainly wasn't a permitted rally. And it certainly was intimidation. There is no moral equivalence here. There was one side practicing bigotry and hate. There was one side carrying Nazi symbols and preaching KKK ideology. The white supremacists were unequivocably much worse. Heck - one among them killed a person and injured over a dozen.
I take some time off to go to work and when I come home, what a surprise to find who is identifying with and defending the Nazi's.
No, this isn't an insult, but an observation.
y_p_w
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