Portland Mayor to Alt-Right Rally Organizers: Cancel

In the wake of Friday's murder of 2 men who defended Muslim teens
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2017 9:30 AM CDT
Portland's Mayor Trying to Block Alt-Right Rallies
In this Jan. 17, 2017, photo, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks during a press conference in Portland, Ore.   (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

The mayor of Portland, Ore., is pleading with organizers of two upcoming alt-right rallies to cancel them in the wake of Friday's train stabbings that left two dead and one injured, the Oregonian reports. Ted Wheeler also says the city won't be issuing any city permits for such events, and he's requesting the federal government, which controls the plaza where both rallies are set to be held, to revoke the permit for the "Trump Free Speech Rally" already issued for June 4 and not issue one for the "March Against Sharia" event on June 10, notes the Portland Mercury. "Our City is in mourning, our community's anger is real, and the timing and subject of these events can only exacerbate an already difficult situation," Wheeler wrote Monday on Facebook.

Among those taking issue with Wheeler's request: The ACLU of Oregon, which tweeted Monday that "the government cannot revoke or deny a permit based on the viewpoint of the demonstrators. Period." The legal director for the organization added in his own tweet: "Our hearts are broken, but government censorship is not the answer. We must defend the constitution even when it is uncomfortable." In a separate article, the Oregonian also talks with those who witnessed the Friday murders, including Rachel Macy, who says she helped 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche after he was slashed in the neck. "I'm going to die," he told her as she tried to comfort and calm him. "I just kept telling him, 'You're not alone," she says. "What you did was total kindness." His last words as he was carried away on a stretcher: "Tell everyone on this train I love them." (More Portland, Oregon stories.)

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