Charlottesville Aftermath: Boston Prepping For Free Speech Rally | MTP Daily

>>> WELCOME BACK. WHAT WE SAW IN CHARLOTTESVILLE,
VIRGINIA, THISS PAST WEEKEND STRUCK THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
AND IT ALSO EVALUATED CONCERNS THAT SOMETHING SIMILAR COULD
HAPPEN AGAIN IN ANOTHER AMERICAN CITY.
ON SUNDAY, A CONTROVERSIAL FAR-RIGHT RALLY MOVED FORWARD IN
SEATTLE, ATTRACTING LARGE GROUPS OF COUNTER-PROTESTERS IN CLASHES
WITH POLICE. THANKFULLY, THERE WERE NO
SERIOUS INJURIES. MEANWHILE, SIMILAR RALLIES ARE
BEING PLANNED IN A LOT OF BLUE CITIES, SAN FRANCISCO AND
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, FOR THIS MONTH.
PLANS FOR OPPOSING RALLIES THERE ARE ALREADY FORMING, AS WELL.
AND THIS WEEKEND, BOSTON IS BRACING ITSELF FOR WHAT COULD BE
A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN SOME OF THESE CONTROVERSIAL FAR-RIGHT
GROUPS THAT ARE ORGANIZING WHAT THEY CALL A, QUOTE, BOSTON FREE
SPEECH RALLY AND THE COUNTER-DEMONSTRATORS THAT ARE
EXPECTED TO SHOW UP, AS WELL. JOINING ME NOW IS THE MAYOR OF
BOSTON, MARTY WALSH. MR. MAYOR, WELCOME TO THE SHOW,
SIR. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS RALLY, SPECIFICALLY.
HAVE YOU ISSUED A PERMIT FOR THIS GROUP?
DO THEY LEGALLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO AHEAD?
>> THERE'S BEEN NO PERMIT ISSUED.
TODAY, THIS GROUP OR SOME GROUP ASSOCIATED WITH THEM CAME IN AND
PULLED AN APPLICATION FOR A PERMIT THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO
AFTER IT WITH OUR BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, OUR SUPERINTENDENT,
AND THIS GROUP WILL HAVE TO LIVE BY THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT WE
MAKE AND WHAT THEY CAN DO AND THEY CAN'T DO, IF THEY ARE TO
HAVE THIS RALLY OR WHAR THEY WANT TO CALL IT IN BOSTON.
>> IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO GRANT THEM A PERMIT, BUT IT'S
GOING TO COME WITH SOME RESTRICTIONS?
>> SOME MAJOR RESTRICTIONS. WE CERTAINLY DON'T CONDONE AND
OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO THE FOLKS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE.
I SPOKE TO THE MAYOR THE OTHER DAY TO LET HILL KNOW WE'RE
STANDING IN SOLIDARITY WITH THEM.
WE DON'T WANT THESE PEOPLE IN OUR CITY.
WE DON'T WANT TO BE SPREADING HATE
NEO-NAZIISM. WE MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR,
ASKED PEOPLE NOT TO COME INTO OUR CITY.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT TODAY A PERMIT WAS -- AN APPLICATION WAS
PULLED FOR A PERMIT, BUT NOTHING'S BEEN FINALIZED, YET.
>> WHAT KIND OF RESTRICTIONS ARE YOU CONTEMPLATING?
>> NO STICKS, NO SIGNS, AND THE POLICE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT SOME
OTHER AREAS, PROBABLY NO AMPLIFICATION OF SOUND AND
THINGS LIKE THAT CAN CAUSE HARM AND SPREAD HATE.
AND SOMETHING WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO.
WE HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO DO THAT.
WE'VE WATCHED WHAT HAPPENED AROUND THE COUNTRY, PARTICULARLY
LAST WEEKEND IN CHARLOTTESVILLE. AND PEOPLE COMING IN WITH STICKS
AND HELMETS AND WEAPONS. THAT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN
THE CITY OF BOSTON. >> WHAT WILL THAT MEAN?
THAT PICTURE, PEOPLE HAVE SEEN IT.
IT WAS SOME SORT OF MILITIAS OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT,
BUT IT WAS A GROUP OF REALLY WELL-ARMED PROTESTERS.
WHAT WOULD YOU -- WHAT WOULD YOU INSTRUCT THE POLICE TO DO WITH
THOSE FOLKS? >> THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO
THAT IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. OUR GUN LAWS ARE DIFFERENT.
WE DON'T HAVE AN OPEN CARRY LAW. BUT IF WE HAD MILITIA COME IN
HERE WITH WEAPONS, WE WOULD BE ARRESTING PEOPLE.
AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN IN OUR CITY.
I MEAN, THANK GOD, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE IMAGES ON TV OVER THE
LAST COUPLE OF NIGHTS, OF SEEING THE ARMED MILITIA DOWN IN
VIRGINIA, IT COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT WORSE THAN IT WAS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THREE PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES THAT DAY.
BUT IT COULD GET AWFUL SCARY. AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE
CONCERN I HAVE IS WHAT THE MESSAGE IS HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN 2017. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEO-NAZI
GROUPS. YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
WHY IS SUPREMACY AND SPREADING HATE.
THAT'S NOT WHO WE ARE AS AMERICANS.
PEOPLE NEED TO STEP UP. AND I ASSUME FOLKS THAT SHOWED
UP AT THAT RALLY WITH AMERICAN FLAGS ON THEIR SHOULDERS AND ON
THEIR SLEEVES. SHAME ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY'VE
COMPLETELY LOST WHAT THAT FLAG REPRESENTS.
THAT RED ON THAT FLAG REPRESENTS BLOOD.
BLOOD SPILLED FROM PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT FOR FREEDOMS OF THIS
COUNTRY, NOT TO TEAR THIS COUNTRY DOWN.
AND I HOPE SOME OF THE FOLKS WITHIN THOSE DIFFERENT
ORGANIZATIONS COME TO THEIR SENSES, AND I HOPE OUR LEADER IN
WASHINGTON COMES TO HIS SENSES AND DOESN'T DO WHAT HE DID
TODAY, BUT MOVE FORWARD. AND THIS ISN'T ABOUT DONALD
TRUMP. LET ME BRING IT BACK TO BOSTON,
MASSACHUSETTS. IN OUR CITY, WE'RE ABOUT MOVING
FORWARD. 28% OF THE RESIDENTS THAT LIVE
IN OUR CITY WERE BORN IN ANOTHER COUNTRY.
48% OF THE RESIDENTS IN OUR CITY OUR FIRST GENERATION.
WE'RE A CITY OF MOVING FORWARD. WE DON'T NEED A GROUP OF PEOPLE
TAKING US BACK. >> OBVIOUSLY, YOU DON'T WANT
THIS GROUP HERE. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD LEGALLY
PREVENT THEM FROM GETTING A PERMIT, YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IT.
IS THAT BASICALLY -- DID YOU JUST DECIDE CONSTITUTIONALLY,
YOU COULDN'T PREVENT IT? >> WELL, THEY DON'T HAVE THE
PERMIT YET, SO LET'S ASSUME, ALL THEY'VE DONE SO FAR IS PULL AN
APPLICATION. THEY'RE GOING TO BE SITTING DOWN
AT ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT. MAYBE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE
THE RULES AND REGULATIONS WE'RE GOING TO PUT ON THEM AND WE'LL
SEE WHAT HAPPENS AT THAT POINT. >> BUT YOU ARE DEFINITELY GOING
TO ISSUE SOME PERMIT WITH SOME FORM OF RESTRICTION?
>> WELL, WITH AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO SEE IF THEY AGREE TO IT.
THEY MIGHT SAY, WE DON'T AGREE THOUGH AND THEY MIGHT DECIDE TO,
I DON'T KNOW, NOT MOVE FORWARD OR MAYBE EVEN TAKE US TO COURT.
WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS AND TAKE IT A STEP AT A TIME.
>> DO YOU BELIEVE YOU'RE BEING TARGETED BECAUSE BOSTON IS
CONSIDERED A LIBERAL CITY, CONSIDERED A CITY THAT THEY WANT
THE CLASH, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CERTAINLY
NOT -- WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?
WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CHOSE BOSTON?
>> I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD SAY THAT.
THIS GROUP, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS GROUP
THAT'S COMING HERE NEXT WEEK, AND IT'S NOT THE SAME GROUP THAT
WAS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, THIS GROUP THAT'S COMING HERE NEXT
WEEK HAS ALREADY DONE A DEMONSTRATION OR SOME TYPE OF
WALKAROUND THE PUBLIC BOSTON GARDEN -- BOSTON COMMONS, EXCUSE
ME, AT ONE POINT, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN HERE.
I THINK THIS IS ALREADALREADY P BEFORE WHAT HAPPENED IN
CHARLOTTESVILLE, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
SO THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO WHAT'S GOING ON.
BUT THE PEACE RALLY THAT'S BEING PLANNED FOR SATURDAY IN BOSTON,
THAT'S HAPPENED SINCE CHARLOTTESVILLE, STANDING IN
SOLIDARITY OF THE PEOPLE OF CHARLOTTESVILLE AND SPREADING
THE WORD OF TOLERANCE AND LOVE AND PEACE.
THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO HAVE MORE OF HERE.
AND HOPEFULLY, ON SATURDAY, IF WE DO HAVE GROUPS IN HERE, WE'RE
GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN, CERTAINLY, TO KEEP THEM APART,
BUT ALSO TO HAVE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS IN OUR CITY.
>> MAYOR MARTY WALSH, ALWAYS A PLEASU

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