Portland Mayor calls on government to stop ‘alt-right’ rallies
The city of Portland, Oregon, is still trying to recover from two deaths related to a possible hate crime, so the mayor wants to put a stop to two upcoming demonstrations that he describes as “alt-right.”
On Monday, Mayor Ted Wheeler asked the federal government to revoke the permit for a rally set for Sunday as well as for one set for June 10. The two rallies are planned by different organizers and will take place on federal land, which makes it a federal government issue.
“Our city is in mourning, our community’s anger is real, and the timing and subject of these events can only exacerbate an already difficult situation,” Wheeler posted on Facebook.
— White Supremacist mob of protesters gather in Virginia with torches —
According to a statement, Wheeler had already said that the city would not grant permits, but the federal government had already granted one for the June 4 rally.
“My main concern is that they are coming to peddle a message of hatred and of bigotry,” Wheeler said. “They have a First Amendment right to speak, but my pushback on that is that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Two men were stabbed to death and a third was badly injured during an attack on a commuter train on Friday. The men were reportedly trying to stop a man who was shouting anti-Muslim slurs at two young woman, one of whom was wearing a hijab. The attack took place just hours before the holy month of Ramadan.
