Berkeley Farmers Market To Close Saturday Over Fears Of Repeat Of Violence At Planned Pro-Trump Rally…
Berkeley PD is on standby.
Via SF Gate:
The Berkeley farmers’ market has been open for business
every Saturday for 30 years, save the time gale-force winds shut it down. But
it will be closed Saturday, as organizers fear the fallout from a second pro-President Trump rally in as many months near the market’s home.
The people who run the Ecology Center Farmers’ Market next to Civic Center Park decided this week not to set up their stalls Saturday
because of concerns of more violence from the rally, which is set to start at noon in the park near Berkeley City Hall, said Martin Bourque, the market’s executive director.
The closure was the clearest sign of concern among businesses and residents about a rally being organized by a loose collective of far-right groups. One of them, Oath Keepers, which says it will provide security, has been categorized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
While this is a real financial blow to many farmers, we cannot put a price on safety,” Bourque said.
At a pro-Trump rally at the park March 4, 60 to 75 supporters of the president were outnumbered by counterdemonstrators and anarchists. The two groups quickly clashed,
throwing punches, swinging signs with wooden stakes and hurling bricks at one another.[…]
Many demonstrators after the rally criticized
police officers’ apparent reluctance to make arrests. A spokesman for the city, Matthai Chakko, said that “what you saw is a lot of people came armed and armored and ready to fight.” He said police did an “excellent job” and emphasized that the violence hadn’t spilled into the streets surrounding the park.
“We’re always looking to improve, and we’re always looking to see how we can better respond,” he said.
Chakko said the city had been in talks with the farmers’ market and other local businesses in order to ensure their safety.
Rich Black, an organizer of the rally with the Liberty Revival Alliance, did not respond to a request for comment. On the event’s Facebook page, a number of people blamed “leftist thugs” for inciting the violence in March. Several posters said they planned to come to Saturday’s rally from as far away as Los Angeles.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Farmers-market-to-close-as-Berkeley-braces-for-11072774.php#photo-12492675
