Weapons banned at white supremacist rally
KNOXVILLE — Police will prohibit firearms and any other weapons at a rally that’s expected to pit white supremacists against counterdemonstrators on the site of a Fort Sanders monument honoring Confederate soldiers Saturday, city officials said.
All participants will be screened with a metal detector for weapons and other prohibited items “in compliance with state law” before they’re allowed to enter one of the established demonstration zones, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero’s office announced Wednesday.
“Our officers will be there to maintain order and ensure that everybody is free to speak their piece,” Rogero said. “These are volatile times, and I strongly urge everyone to refrain from antagonism. We can have these discussions as a community without resorting to angry rhetoric or violence.”
Other prohibited items include masks or any type of face covering, shields, poles, sticks, water bottles, drink containers, coolers, beverages and food. Water will be provided on-site.
Signs and flags also will not be allowed if they are attached to a pole or stick or any object that could be used as a weapon.
Only required medical items will be allowed into the demonstration zones.
The city’s precautions follow the Aug. 12 protest in Charlottesville, Va., by white supremacists and neo-Nazis over the proposed removal of a Robert E. Lee statue that turned deadly when a man plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 people.
Many among the white supremacists openly carried firearms and other weapons at the rally.
“It won’t be anything like Charlottesville — they’re going to keep everyone divided,” said Chris Irwin, a local criminal defense attorney who is helping coordinate the counterprotest Saturday.
Irwin, who spoke to Knoxville Police Department officials this week, said opposing groups at Saturday’s rally will be kept separated on either side of Seventeenth Street by bike rack barricades and police officers.
Other than narrow sidewalks on either side of Seventeenth Street, there is little open space to accommodate a crowd in the immediate area surrounding the monument.
THE FORT SANDERS MONUMENT
The Fort Sanders monument, erected in 1914 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, stands on a public right-of-way near the corner of Seventeenth and Laurel Avenue.
An online petition was launched earlier this month calling on Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero to have the monument removed. A competing petition seeks to save it.
A new state law prevents the city from moving it without a waiver from the State Historical Commission.
Rogero spokesman Jesse Fox Mayshark said Wednesday the mayor plans to meet with a group of local historians and scholars in the coming weeks about the monument’s history.
Shortly after the petition calling for the monument’s removal was publicized, a white supremacist group, Confederate 28, announced plans for the Fort Sanders rally in a post to the new-Nazi Stormfront online forum.
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett weighed in Wednesday with a statement reading, “As out-of-town white supremacists and neo-Nazis head toward East Tennessee, I ask everyone of faith to pray for the safety and well-being of our community, our law enforcement and everyone involved, and for the healing of our nation.
“The racism and hatred of these white supremacists and neo-Nazis don’t reflect our values, and they are not welcome here.”
The Fort Sanders monument was defaced with paint last week, then quickly cleaned by supporters. City Public Service crews were at the monument Wednesday morning, spray washing the stone after another reported act of vandalism.
PUBLIC SAFETY OVER PUBLIC PARKING
Seventeenth Street will be closed to vehicular traffic, beginning at 6
“As out-of-town white supremacists and neo-Nazis head toward East Tennessee, I ask everyone of faith to pray for the safety and well-being of our community … ”
— TIM BURCHETT, KNOX COUNTY MAYOR
a.m. Saturday between Cumberland and Highland avenues.
Adjoining streets including White, Clinch, Laurel and Highland avenues will be shut down as well.
Also beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, no on-street parking will be allowed within a six-block area bounded by Highland Avenue to the north, White Avenue to the south, Sixteenth Street to the east and Eighteenth Street to the west. City officials warn that any vehicles left parked within that area will be towed.
Residents affected by the street closures will be allowed to leave their homes and apartments as needed.
The demonstrations are expected to last until 4 p.m.
“I regret the inconvenience these temporary restrictions will create for the residents and businesses of Fort Sanders, which is one of Knoxville’s great historic neighborhoods,” Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said. “I ask for patience during Saturday’s events.”
Irwin said it’s his understanding that police are readying to handle a combined crowd of up to 3,000 people, although he anticipates a much smaller turnout.
“I expect less than 40 on their side,” he said. “We’ll probably hit around 220.”
Counterprotesters routinely have outnumbered demonstrators at local white supremacist rallies in previous years.
“In the marketplace of ideas, they are disarmed,” Irwin said. “They’re great at violence, but they suck at debating ideas.”