The California city that birthed the American free speech movement is preparing for potential clashes even though the person behind a right-wing rally scheduled for Sunday has pleaded with supporters to stay away, saying that she fears violence. The "No to Marxism in America" rally in downtown Berkeley comes a day after a controversial freedom rally planned by a right-wing group fizzled amid throngs of counter-protesters in San Francisco. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee declared victory over a group he branded as inviting hate. Gibson downgraded his Saturday rally into a news conference at a San Francisco park, but was thwarted when police swarmed the park and city workers erected a fence around it. However, the deadly confrontation in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12 during a rally of white supremacists led San Francisco police and civil leaders to rethink their response to protests.

Source: ABC News August 27, 2017 06:10 UTC