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Two large groups have planned Sunday protests and counter-protests over the planned removal of three Confederate monuments in New Orleans.
Sunday’s rally was originally called by Take ‘Em Down NOLA, an organization that has called for the removal of all statues and street and institution names that the group says honor white supremacists. It promises a march and second-line at 1:30 p.m. from Congo Square, next to Municipal Auditorium, to Lee Circle to celebrate the removal of the first of four Jim Crow-era statues in the city last month.
Over the past week, some right-wing groups have been telling supporters to show up at the Take ‘Em Down rally. While some have simply asked for generic counter-protests, others have called for their members to be prepared to fight.
In light of the tension, New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said the groups protesting Sunday will be physically separated from one another with divided protest areas.
The NOPD, which is considering Sunday’s planned protests a homeland security issue, will also be enforcing a ban on weapons at demonstrations and a general ban on masks during the afternoon march by the group calling for the monuments to be removed.
The city of New Orleans took down the monument to the Battle of Liberty Place, a white-supremacist uprising against the state’s Reconstruction-era government, on April 24 and plans to remove statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard in the coming days or weeks.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_49e8ddd0-3330-11e7-b737-8f4f01c61c06.html