Thousands counter-protest ‘free speech rally’ in Boston
A large crowd of people march towards the Boston Commons to protest the Boston Free Speech Rally in Boston, MA, U.S., August 19, 2017. Photo by Stephanie Keith/Reuters
Thousands of counter-protesters overpowered a scheduled “free speech rally” by far-right groups in Boston on Saturday.
The “Boston Free Speech Rally,” organized by a coalition of conservative and libertarian groups, comes one week after a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was attended by neo-Nazi groups and KKK members.
By 11 a.m. on Saturday, the group of counter-protesters — which was organized by a coalition of left-leaning groups, including Black Lives Matter — vastly outnumbered those who came in support of the rally. Police announced the rally had ended at 1:30 p.m. on Twitter.
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The crowds marched from Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury to the Boston Common, where the rally they were protesting was scheduled to begin at noon. The group’s city permit allowed the rally to continue until 2 pm.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said Friday that the city would deploy 500 officers to keep the two groups apart.
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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who has vocally opposed the rally, joined counter-protesters in Roxbury.
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Though the rally has been planned since July, it has drawn increased attention in the aftermath of last week’s white nationalist gathering in Virginia. On the event’s Facebook page, organizers insisted that their movement for free speech was “in no way affiliated with the Charlottesville rally.”
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