A “White Civil Rights” rally will happen on the anniversary of the deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The rally is being organized by Jason Kessler, who organized the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The National Parks Service approved an application for “Unite the Right 2,” which is set to take place on August 11 and 12. A permit for a similar event was denied in Charlottesville, with officials citing safety reasons. According to his Twitter page, Kessler filed a lawsuit in March to protest the decision.
BREAKING NEWS! Yesterday I filed a federal lawsuit against the #Charlottesville government for denying my August 12th, 2018 Unite the Right Anniversary Rally permit. Read all about it here:https://t.co/lBkAKtjUoD
— Jason Kessler (@TheMadDimension) March 7, 2018
On June 4, Kessler claimed the city's manager was deposed in relation to the case.
We're deposing Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones (or authorized representative) in the UTR 2 permit lawsuit tomorrow. This will be the 1st time since Unite the Right we put a city official under oath under penalty of perjury
Maurice Jones was in the A12 "Command Center"
— Jason Kessler (@TheMadDimension) June 15, 2018
Kessler says this year’s rally is a direct response to the fallout from last year.
“This year we have a new purpose,” Kessler told WUSA. “That’s to talk about the civil rights abuse that happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.”
Kessler says his group is not responsible for the violence that occurred at the event.
“It wasn’t the fault of my group that that stuff happened,” he said.
Kessler also feels like his group and those who share his point of view have been robbed of their ability to express themselves.
“We’re not able to peacefully assemble. We’re not able to speak,” Kessler claimed.
This year, Kessler posted a set of rules on the event’s site that includes a ban of racist paraphernalia and the presence of mandatory body cams.
