Richmond police officers were in evidence Friday morning on North Allen Avenue near the Robert E. Lee monument, in preparation for Saturday's demonstration by a neo-Confederate group from Tennessee. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
In anticipation of a demonstration Saturday by a neo-Confederate group that wants to see the monument to Gen. Robert E. Lee stay in place on Monument Avenue, police are advising Richmonders to avoid the area.
“The recommendation, I would say — and don’t take this the wrong way — is don’t show up,” Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham told a crowd of more than 300 people during a community forum at First Baptist Church on Thursday evening. “Think about it — I can’t predict when someone is going to pull a firearm."
The gathering called “Protect the General Robert E. Lee Monument Rally” is scheduled to last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monument Avenue, according to the event’s Facebook post.
The organizer is Tara Brandau, a member of the III Percent Security Force, which describes itself as an active militia, along with the Tennessee chapter of CSA II: The New Confederate States of America, a national not-for-profit organization that sells Confederate merchandise.
At last night’s community forum, attendees voiced concerns ranging from where residents should park, whether any groups had secured permits and what the police are planning, to whether participants would be allowed to open-carry and how counter-protestors should avoid being shot. One man asked Durham if he personally would leave his car on the street (yes) and if he would come out of his house this weekend (also yes).
Many audience members sought to gauge how similar, if at all, police believed Saturday’s event would be to the August “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, where white supremacists, neo-Nazis and others opposed to the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Lee clashed with counter-protesters at the University of Virginia and Downtown Mall area, resulting in the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer. Two Virginia State Police officers, Lt. H. Jay Cullen and trooper-pilot Berke M.M. Bates, died in a helicopter crash after leaving downtown Charlottesville, where they had been monitoring events from the air.
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham addresses questions at First Baptist Church on Monument Avenue. (Photo by Sarah King)
"We’re going to do everything we can to safeguard life, property and First Amendment rights, but we will not tolerate violence,” Durham said Thursday night. "Stay in Tennessee with that nonsense.”
Although he repeatedly emphasized he would not disclose specific tactics, Durham said the RPD and other law enforcement groups, such as the Virginia Commonwealth University and Capitol Police, have been monitoring the situation closely on social media and have been in communication with the out-of-state groups, as well as counter-protesters.
VCU President Michael Rao similarly urged the community to avoid Saturday’s events in a statement to the university community Thursday.
"There is precedence for violence at this kind of demonstration, and your safety is my paramount concern," Rao said. "We all have the freedom of speech, expression and peaceful assembly. As members of a research university community dedicated to education and creativity, we take those freedoms seriously. We also have the autonomy of sound judgment, and we recognize that difficult or contentious debates can be productive only when the threat of violence will not drown out our voices."
No groups have secured permits
Many audience members expressed confusion about why the groups were allowed to gather at all, particularly in light of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Executive Order 67, which he issued Aug. 18 in response to the events in Charlottesville.
The order temporarily halted the issuance of permits and prohibited demonstrations at the Lee monument until new emergency regulations have been approved and implemented.
“In the aftermath of [the Charlottesville] tragedy, several groups have requested permits to hold similar-styled events at the Lee monument in Richmond,” McAuliffe said. “State and local officials need to get ahead of this problem, so that we have the proper legal protections in place to allow for peaceful demonstrations, but without putting citizens and property at risk.”
McAuliffe issued a later executive order convening a task force to form the basis of the new regulations and procedures in three months. The Lee monument, which is the only statue on Monument Avenue owned by the state of Virginia, not the city, presently allows demonstrations of as many as 5,000 people from sunrise until 11 p.m.
“A lot of folks ask: Why is the Richmond Police Department allowing folks to protest?” Durham said at the forum. “Ladies and gentleman, the right to assemble is a constitutional right. You don’t need a permit.”
Durham said the out-of-state organizers told police they anticipate about 50 participants, but it’s impossible to know exactly what to expect, or how many people — rally participants or counter-protesters — will ultimately show up Saturday.
One audience member, who said he lives one block west of the Lee monument, asked whether protesters “on either side” would be allowed west of Meadow Street
“They’re going to be coming from all directions,” Durham responded. “I don’t know when they’re arriving, how they’re arriving.”
Durham repeatedly emphasized he would not divulge police tactics, but assured the audience that officers would be ready for whatever happens.
“Our only point of concentration is not only Monument [Avenue] — I will say we have enough officers to respond,” Durham said. “We never want to tip our tactics.”
No parking signs are posted along Monument Avenue between Lombardy and Meadow streets, effective from Friday morning through Saturday at 8 p.m. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
Parking restrictions in the Fan
In anticipation of the rally, the city has implemented road closures and no parking zones on several streets in the vicinity of the Lee Monument. When an audience member at the forum asked if the city or police have secured additional parking for residents in the above areas, Durham responded they had not.
Road closures and no parking zones are designated as of 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, and will reopen at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16:
- Monument Avenue between Lombardy and Meadow streets;
- North Allen Avenue between West Grace Street and Park Avenue;
- West Grace Street westbound between Allen Avenue and Lombardy Street, and;
- West Grace Street eastbound between Allen Avenue and Meadow Street.
No parking zones will be designated at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, through 11 p.m. on Sept. 16 for the following streets:
- East Clay Street between Ninth and Seventh streets
- North Eighth Street between East Leigh and Marshall streets
- East Leigh Street between Fourth and Eighth streets.
Road closures will be designated beginning at 5 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 on the following streets and will reopen as soon as possible Saturday afternoon based on conditions:
- East Clay Street between Ninth and Seventh streets
- North Eighth Street between East Leigh and Marshall streets
Weapons banned, but guns allowed; safety gear prohibited
Durham said that police have implemented a weapons restriction on anyone attending on Saturday — to include knives, sticks and bats — but this did not extend to firearms because Virginia is an open-carry state. In contrast, the police are banning the use of helmets, shields and other safety gear, and will be making arrests if anyone wears a mask, which is illegal to sport in public.
Many in the audience bristled at these rules. One woman asked how counter-protesters should avoid being shot; another pointed out photographic evidence on Facebook of the event organizers posing with automatic rifles; Durham again emphasized not showing up.
“I’m making the best decision in the interest in public safety,” Durham said. “It’s not an easy decision, ladies and gentlemen — again, we’ve been working on this plan a month, and we’re still putting pieces together. We didn’t invite these folks here.”
Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning local jurisdictions cannot pass laws bypassing state regulations. Hence, the city cannot prohibit firearms — for in- or out-of-state attendees — because it is state law. Durham said if residents take issue with this, they have a civic duty to show up at the General Assembly next session.
Even so, Durham made clear that weapons laws will be strictly enforced and any form of violence will be staunchly prohibited.
“While the law states and allows the open carrying in public of firearms, the law does not allow for the threatening or menacing of individuals who are handling such weapons, and if any weapons laws are violated, we will be making arrests,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Levar Stoney reiterated the same sentiment at a news conference.
“I don’t care whether you live here or you’re coming here, but bottom line, we expect you to obey the law, because I guarantee you we will enforce it,” Stoney said. “And if you do not respect our city, law enforcement will lock you up.”
Precautionary measures
Durham said the police are also “keeping an eye” on Friday, particularly in light of the “Unite the Right” protesters marching unexpectedly with tiki torches on the U. Va. lawn the night before their planned Saturday event last month.
Police are also fencing off the Lee monument and will be repurposing trucks from the Department of Public Works to create roadblocks so that an attack by motor vehicle — the cause of Heyer’s death — would not occur in Richmond.
There will also be three specifically designated assembly areas, or “free speech zones.”
“We’re concentrating on a small parcel — four streets — so they can say what they gotta say and get out of here, [as] opposed to letting them roam neighborhood streets,” Durham said.
Ultimately, though, the police chief said the biggest difference between Richmond and Charlottesville will be the readiness of his officers.
“One thing I’m certain we’re going to do different,” Durham said, “the first unlawful assembly — we’re going to make arrests. We’re going to set the tone.”
