Council hears earful on KKK, alt-right rallies | Local | dailyprogress … – The Daily Progress
As the sporadic episodes of low-contact social unrest outside of Charlottesville venues continued this past weekend, city residents Monday called upon the city to disallow upcoming public events that will feature the Ku Klux Klan, far-right political activists and white nationalists.
The most recent flare-up happened Saturday night when right-wing activists and members of a pro-Western fraternal organization called the Proud Boys were refused service from several restaurants downtown, including Cinema Taco and Millers.
After right-wing activists this weekend lambasted the restaurants for allegedly discriminating against them for their political views, left-wing activists Monday asked the city to revoke the permits for the events the KKK and the alt-right a loose collection of far-right-wing political movements will stage this summer.
Make no mistake, these groups are coming to do physical and psychological harm to Charlottesvilles residents and the local government of the Capital of the Resistance intends to let them, said Mark Heisey. How is this city going to allow violent white nationalists who promote and are carrying out murders of people of color all over this country?
Another left-wing activist, Luis Oyola, described an encounter earlier this month with a pair of right-wing activists, Jason Kessler and William Loudermilk, who he said told him to go back to your country.
The most dangerous thing about these men is not their opinion, but their insecurities and the way they take them out on others, Oyola said.
Alleging that the Proud Boys are more like a gang than a fraternal group, he said that a rumored rite of passage into the upper echelon of the group involves beating up an antifa, or anti-fascist activist.
Kessler, who has invited a slew of white nationalist groups and activist to speak at an August rally in Emancipation Park, known until recently as Lee Park, dismissed the assertion that the right-wing groups are violent.
I think weve settled that none of you guys are for the First Amendment, Kessler told detractors at Mondays council meeting.
You guys arent even liberals liberals agree with the First Amendment. You guys are totalitarians and communists, he said. You think that any speech you disagree with is violence that is complete bull-crap.
A week after meeting at Mount Zion First African Baptist Church to discuss how the community should respond to the upcoming events, the council will hold a news conference Tuesday with Police Chief Al Thomas and other city officials to talk about Unity Day, another event now being planned for July 8, the same day as the KKK rally planned for Court Square.
According to a news release, city officials also will discuss public safety and unity before, during and after July 8.
Following the public comment period at Mondays meeting, the council briefly discussed the possibility of rescinding the permit for Kesslers Aug. 12 event, raising concern that individuals or groups involved could be participating in gang-like activity.
City Attorney Craig Brown advised that the groups have not been found guilty of committing any crimes in the city and that restricting the events could violate constitutional rights.
Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Mike Signer called for civility.
What makes us great is precisely the fact that everyone has the right to speak, no matter how noxious their opinions are that hateful and ignorant views will perish through exposure to sunlight, oxygen and facts, he said.
We can and will confront and defeat these dark forces. And we will do so on our own terms.
Priorities; strategic plan
While much attention was given to the July 8 Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rally and the Aug. 12 Unite the Right event, the council also addressed other issues Monday.
Among those issues, the council voted to adopt a plan of objectives to prioritize in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The City Council Annual Workplan outlines a focus on several areas, including workforce development, affordable housing development, traffic management, urban planning initiatives and citizen engagement. Other specific items included completing the Belmont Bridge replacement project, seeing the Dewberry Hotel constructed and improving the citys relationship with Albemarle County and the University of Virginia.
The council also approved its three-year strategic plan. The new plan was drafted per work sessions last summer and fall. The plan is meant to guide how city and elected officials will manage the citys priorities from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2020.
The plan calls for fostering an inclusive community of self-sufficient residents; a healthy and safe city; a beautiful and sustainable natural and built environment; a strong, creative and diversified economy; and a well-managed and responsive organization.
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Council hears earful on KKK, alt-right rallies | Local | dailyprogress ... - The Daily Progress