Lewiston will host a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest Saturday, among other rallies in the area.
The event, called LC Valley BLM Protest, is scheduled for 11 a.m., beginning at Kiwanis Park with plans to march on the bike levees, according to posts from the event’s Facebook page.
In a post, one of the current organizers, Madison Winn, shared the original page would be deleted because a former organizer no longer wanted their name associated with the event.
“Our other host wanted the involvement of the Lewiston Police Department and their help to coordinate the date,” Winn said in the post. “JeaDa Lay and I did not want this.”
The former organizer, Katie, said she had a disagreement with Lay and Winn over coordinating a new date after the city pulled the protest’s permit.
The other organizer, Katie, said she had a disagreement with Lay and Winn over coordinating a new date after the city pulled the protest’s permit. She did, however, attend the event. Katie clarified her position in leaving the event in her own post.
“Since the event had been posted threats began to come in from people in the area that are in opposition to the event taking place,” Katie said. “Due to these threats I had the opinion that it would be in everyone’s best interest to have law enforcement involved so no outside sources could try to make the event something it was not. The other organizers were in complete opposition of having any police involvement.”
Lay and Winn are both current organizers of the event.
There will also be a Defend Lewiston Second Amendment rally 11 a.m. Saturday. This rally will start in downtown’s Brackenbury Square. According to event organizers, the goal is to help ensure there is no looting or rioting in the Lewiston area.
“We rally together in support of every human’s right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and in support of our second amendment rights,” details for the event said. “We will also stand up in support of our town and say no to riots and violence in our community. We will not allow our town to be vandalized.”
The two protests are scheduled to be an 18 minute walk apart, according to Google Maps.
A third group of residents, called Protect LC Valley, will also be out at 11 a.m. Saturday. According to the group’s Facebook page, they’ll be walking around keeping an eye out for potential destruction or violence from protestors participating in the LC Valley BLM Protest.
“We will gladly keep our distance away from the protesters’ area and personnel in order to not cause tension,” the page said. “Many concerned citizens in our group will be using their 2nd amendment right for self-defense.”
When the group, formerly BLM Peace Rally, now LC Valley BLM Protest, did not agree to postpone the event for a week, their permit was revoked by the City of Lewiston’s Parks and Rec Department.
“We didn’t want the movement to come in second to the logistics,” Winn said. “We can’t lose that momentum, so we did not want to postpone because it needs to happen now. If it happens next week it would be fine, but it would be listening to someone that didn’t want it to happen now.”
Organizers Winn and Lay said they are working to make the event safe and are planning to keep the crowd socially distanced due to concerns of spreading COVID-19.
Lewiston City Manager Alan Nygaard said he did want not to cancel the event, but instead wanted time to properly plan and coordinate the activities.
“As a city, we are not here to support or condemn the activities, but we are here to maintain a peaceful and safe environment for all within our community,” Nygaard said in a comment on LC Valley Black Lives Matter’s Facebook post. “Our aim in asking for a postponement was not to discourage a peaceful march, but to allow the city the opportunity to prepare and have the chance to perform our job to the best of our ability.”
However, Winn and Lay said they are committed to making the event happen Saturday as scheduled, despite not having a permit, citing their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.
“Legally, Americans can peaceably assemble in a public place,” a post to the event’s page said. “Permits are encouraged but legally, we can and we will do it.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, protestors do not need a permit to march in the streets or on sidewalks. They added, “If you don’t have a permit, police officers can ask you to move to the side of a street or sidewalk to let others pass or for safety reasons.”
The City of Lewiston and Beautiful Downtown Lewiston released a statement Thursday, which said communication had ended before a plan was in place, but they support the rights of free speech and assembly.
When reached for comment, Lieutenant Jeff Klone at the Lewiston Police Department (LPD) said the department and city support the protestors right to assemble.
“Both groups have agreed they are not going to try and incite any kind of violence or trouble,” Klone said. “We’re not planning to have any extra officers called in and we’re not going to be standing around in riot gear or anything like that. We’ll just be there to keep an eye and make sure people aren’t doing anything they shouldn’t.”
According to the original LC Valley BLM’s Facebook event page, over 1,400 people had responded going or interested to the event.
The Argonaut will continue to follow this story.
This story has been updated to clarify Katie’s position on the Black Lives Matter event.
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo