Civil Rights Organization Planning Saturday Stone Mountain Rally

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA -- An anti-KKK organization is planning a rally Saturday at Stone Mountain to protest what they say is a planned, yet unconfirmed, white supremacist rally at the same location. The FLOWER (Front Line Organization Working to End Racism) Coalition is asking protestors to converge at 9 am in downtown Stone Mountain at the corner of E. Mountain Street and Main Street. From there, they will enter Stone Mountain Park.

Once inside the park, FLOWER said it will spend the entire day "countering any presence by white supremacists and keeping them from terrorizing the community," according to FLOWER spokesperson Andrea McDonald.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association denied a request from Greg Calhoun and John Estes, the organizers of Rock Stone Mountain II, to hold a rally at the park:

"Based on the previous violent event held by your organization on April 23, 2016, as well as your acknowledgement of potential violence in the permit application comments, the Stone Mountain Park Department of Public Safety does not have the available resources to protect not only the members of your organization but the Park employees and general public. Additionally, it was demonstrated by the previous event that a material disruption of Stone Mountain Park operations would exist as Stone Mountain Park had to close operations during your event to protect the public from violent confrontations."

“The Stone Mountain Memorial Association made the right decision in denying the Rock Stone Mountain organizers their permit, but since that point, their decision-making process has been opaque and deeply irresponsible," McDonald said. "They have failed to publicly alert the surrounding area to the threat posed by violent white supremacists and their planned armed invasion of the park.”

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