In addition to the planned and permitted "Patriot Prayer" rally in San Francisco's Crissy Field on Saturday, there's been a planned "No to Marxism" rally in Berkeley on Sunday that is semi-connected, and organized by one of the speakers at the Saturday rally Trump-supporting trans woman Amber Gwen Cummings. As of Thursday, as ABC 7 reports, the City of Berkeley denied a permit application by Cummings for the event, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, based on the fact that the application was both late and incomplete. However you can rest assured that the rally will happen anyway or at least, as happened on March 4 and April 15, activists on the left and right will converge there to scream at each other and get in physical fights.
#DEVELOPING Letter @CityofBerkeley sent to Sunday's "Anti-Marxism" rally organizer denying permit on several grounds, inc lack of security. pic.twitter.com/aL4VOBRtgP
— Laura Anthony (@LauraAnthony7) August 25, 2017
Permits weren't issued for the previous Berkeley gatherings, and critics have suggested that Berkeley police didn't do enough to quell the violence that broke out at either event.
Last week, as ABC 7 notes, the Berkeley City Council voted to give police "greater latitude to enforce bans on certain items and set perimeters beyond the rally at Civic Park." They say they'll be publishing a list of banned items 24 hours before the event.
As KRON 4 reports, counter-protesters have already planned a "anti-hate rally" at the UC Berkeley campus at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by a "anti-hate march" to Civic Center Park, where they will confront the alt-right rally.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin gave a statement saying, "Anyone who threatens to engage in violence and we have seen from earlier events that this is exactly their intent will be arrested and punished to the fullest extent of the law. We urge residents to avoid the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park on this day. The best way to silence the white nationalists is by turning your back on their message."
Berkeley Police Chief Andrew Greenwood tells NBC Bay Area he hopes counter-protesters will just stay on the UC Berkeley campus, but that's not likely to happen. He declined to reveal what the police force's strategy will be for keeping the peace this time around.
While the Patriot Prayer rally in SF appeared to have been scheduled immediately in the wake of Charlottesville for maximum attention, this No to Marxism event was created on Facebook back in June. Currently 325 people have said they are attending.
Previously: Neo-Nazis And Alt-Right 'Patriots' To Bring Racism Road Show To Bay Area This Month