Massive Counterprotest Upstages Boston “Free Speech Rally”

Counterprotesters hold signs at a “Free Speech” rally by conservative activists on Boston Common, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. Thousands of demonstrators marched Saturday from the city’s Roxbury neighborhood to Boston Common, where the “Free Speech Rally” is being held. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans upstaged a small group in Boston that planned a “free speech rally” a week after a violent clash in Virginia left one person dead and dozens injured.

Counterprotesters marched through the city Saturday to historic Boston Common, where conservatives were to deliver speeches. The group, the Boston Free Speech Coalition, had publicly distanced itself from the neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville.

Conservative activists and supporters soon left as counterprotesters chanted slogans and waved signs that said “Make Nazis Afraid Again” and “Love your neighbor.”

Police say the rallies, the largest of about a half dozen across the U.S. Saturday, drew about 40,000 people. The event was mostly peaceful, with 33 arrests made for disorderly conduct or assaulting police officers.

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy