An enormous crowd of counter-protesters showed up Saturday to protest conservatives who were holding a free speech rally, noted Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, according to The Hill.
The vast majority of those who showed up were there “for the right reason,” he said.
Police Commissioner Praises Protesters
Evans added:
“Ninety-nine point nine percent were there to fight bigotry and hate for the most part here today.”
The event, billed as a “Free Speech Rally,” occurred just one week after the violent alt-right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) organized the rally and had intended to include speakers with ties to white nationalism. But with tensions still escalating after the violence caused by neo-Nazi and other white nationalist organizations, the FSC has distanced itself from hate groups.
Mostly Peaceful
Evans noted during a press conference that even with the huge crowd of 40,000 counter-protesters at the rally, the event was peaceful, and that “overall, it was a good day for the city,” Deadline reports.
He added there were only 33 arrests, most of which were for disorderly conduct.
There were only a few assaults against police officers, and in general, most of the misbehaving fell in the pushing and shoving category. In some cases, officers had to endure bottles of urine being thrown at them when they escorted right-wing rally attendees through the crowd.
For Boston mayor Marty Walsh, the mostly peaceful occasion was a relief. It was, he noted, “a very successful day” for the city and for local police. And he thanked the counter-protesters in a tweet:
Today Boston showed there's no place for hate in our City. TY to all who peacefully stood up for our values, and the @bostonpolice.
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) August 19, 2017
Evans added:
“No one got hurt, no one got killed, and there was no significant property damage.”
At the same time that Evans and Walsh were holding the press conference, President Donald Trump tweeted perhaps the dumbest tweet he’s ever written — and he’s written some real beauties, believe me.
He later removed the tweet and replaced it with the same message, but spelled correctly this time.
Fortunately, we have Twitter — where users can make such stupidity famous for all time.
Trump makes the same spelling mistakes two tweets in a row. ??? pic.twitter.com/N5q7TaKk9i
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) August 19, 2017
Trump replaced the tweet with this:
Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017
President Dumb Ass strikes again. It’s hard to imagine President Obama misspelling a word as commonplace as “heal.” But most of us already know Trump is a heel.
That isn’t fake news.
In the video below, you can watch Evans deliver the good news.
Featured image by WCVB Channel 5 Via YouTube Video.