‘First Amendment supporters’ call for protest at Google in Bakery Square
The mayor’s office Monday evening said it was aware of a rightwing website’s call for a freespeech protest in Pittsburgh this weekend, but no permits had been issued or requested.
The statement from Mayor Bill Peduto also warned that “public safety resources” are being prepared and that “[as] Pittsburghers, we have zero tolerance for violence or hatred, and we will do everything in our power to keep our city’s residents safe.”
The protest being touted for Saturday outside Google’s Bakery Square campus in Larimer is one of nine suggested nationwide by a group of self-proclaimed “First Amendment supporters” at www.MarchOnGoogle.com, a website and national campaign it says is dedicated to protecting free speech and the open discussion of ideas.
The marches — being pushed by organizer Jack Posobiec, a “new right” member known for his incendiary posts on Twitter — are in response to Google’s firing of James Damore early this month. Mr. Damore was dismissed after writing a now-infamous memo called “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” which has been largely criticized as sexist and anti-diversity.
Mr. Damore wrote that Google’s political bias has resulted in shaming dissenters into silence, leading to a lack of discussion. His entry point, though, is what caused the controversy — an argument that
women might be underrepresented in the tech industry due to biological differences.
Although the call for the Google marches first went out last Tuesday, they are being seen in a sharper light after the violence in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend.
Mr. Posobiec has been careful to note in his posts that the marches are not a white supremacist event. Neither Mr. Posobiec nor Google immediately responded to requests for comment.
“This is an event for First Amendment supporters from across the country, from all backgrounds, ethnicity, and walks of life,” Mr. Posobiec wrote in a post Monday. “We will not tolerate any incendiary actions, messages, remarks, or gestures that go against the respectful, ‘open basket’ spirit of the event.”
The website’s updated code of conduct reflects an intolerance for violence or breaking the law.
“The March on Google condemns and disavows violence, hatred, and bigotry and all groups that espouse it such as White Nationalists, KKK, Antifa and NeoNazis,” Mr. Posobiec wrote.
“Google is a monopoly, and its [sic] abusing its power to silence dissent and manipulate election results,” wrote Mr. Damore, calling for a march. “Protesters may also be exercising their free speech rights, which Google does not respect, by protesting in front of the homes of Google’s executive team.”
So far, the only information about the Pittsburgh event includes the address and phone number for Google’s Bakery Square office.
It is one of nine locations — which include Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., and offices in Boston and Seattle — for the march.
“We have been monitoring social media and intelligence reports regarding potential right wing protests this weekend in Pittsburgh,” the mayor said in his statement. “However, we have not received any event permit requests nor confirmed whether any such protests will actually occur. We are preparing our public safety resources and are engaging with our community stakeholders. … While we must respect First Amendment rights, let me be clear: those spreading hate, fear and violence are not welcome in our city.”