Town of Lexington Pulls Permit for Pro-second Amendment Rally Using Boston Bombing as Pretext


Adan Salazar
Prison Planet.com
April 17, 2013

A permit secured by the Massachusetts Chapter of Gun Rights Across America to hold a pro-Second Amendment rally at the Lexington Battle Green, the site of the opening shots of the American Revolution, was revoked Tuesday because of alleged “security risks” associated with the Boston Marathon bombings.

Town of Lexington Pulls Permit for Pro second Amendment Rally Using Boston Bombing as Pretext battlegreen

Lexington Battle Green Monument, erected 1799 on the green in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA, photo by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons
“In an emergency meeting, Lexington’s Board of Selectmen [Tuesday] evening voted to issue a moratorium prohibiting the use of the Battle Green or Tower Park for events from April 17 to May 1,” wrote Patrick Ball of the Lexington Patch.

Arguing that the rally may provoke “security issues,” the Board of Selectmen and Lexington police department officials cited “public safety” as the main reason for curtailing the First Amendment.

“I think it’s certainly prudent for the town to take a look at that rally and discuss it further, and how it may impact out security issues,” Lexington Police Captain Manny Ferro told the Lexington Patch. “Public safety is at the forefront of anything that we do. There will be discussions, and there have been discussions about how we’re going to approach this.”

According to WickedLocal.com, federal authorities have also advised against allowing the rally to proceed: “Police Chief Mark Corr said he asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for counsel to see if Lexington should still allow the rally on the Battle Green. He said both state and federal authorities strongly recommended against it.”

“I am struggling because we don’t want the terrorists to prevail and not have them infringe on the freedoms we all cherish,” said Lexington Board Chairman Deb Mauger, adding, ”At the same time we expect a high degree of safety by elected officials and public safety officers.”

Steve Redfern, the Gun Rights Across America member who secured the permit, fears that the town of Lexington, once a prominent symbol of American freedom, has allowed fear and terror to override liberties enshrined by the Constitution. Redfern asked selectmen, “By canceling this event aren’t we showing we are afraid? That they’ve won? …I think it’s important for our country, especially Lexington to stand our ground …I want nothing but a safe rally.”

Affirming, “We will not sacrifice liberty for security,” Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers and an invited guest scheduled to speak at the event, says they and others still fully intend to assemble at the Lexington Battle Green with or without a permit as individuals.

“Our response is to do an oath ceremony anyway. We will still go, still gather… We will not let our free speech be killed in the name of security…”

The Boston bombings have seemingly provided the perfect excuse to keep liberty lovers and others wishing to protect the Second Amendment by exercising their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble from exercising that very right.

Would it still be a "security issue" if it were an Anti-2A Rally?

Oath Keepers Lexington rally endangered by ‘Bull Connor’ tactics

Oath Keepers
April 18, 2013
By: David Codrea



The permit for a planned Patriots Day Second Amendment rally on Friday at Lexington Green was revoked by the Board of Selectmen Tuesday evening, Oath Keepers advised supporters and prospective attendees. “The permit was revoked under the guise of public safety” following the Boston Marathon bombings, the report explained, linking to a video of the meeting where the decision was handed down.

“The emergency meeting’ assembled at 6 p.m. but turned out to be a smoke and mirror show," the report charged. "The Lexington Patch reported that the permits have been revoked at 3:22PM April 16th. That is two hours and 38 minutes before it got voted on.”

The move is not surprising to those considering the resistance to permitting the rally in the first place.

“The Town of Lexington first tried to derail the rally by voting on constitutional rights. The town failed and we got the permit,” the report explains, noting “The BoS voted four-to-one to allow the rally. The one tyrant who voted against American freedoms was Hank Manz.”

“Cancellation of this event was in the making from day one,” the report elaborated, noting Lexington had not even cashed even organizer checks.

“We have retained Massachusetts attorney, Blake Filippi, who also works with The 10th Amendment Center to seek an injunction against the revocation of the permit,” Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes advised, noting that an alternate site is being arranged and characterizing the move as “wav[ing a] victory flag for marathon attacker.”

“That’s the same tactic used by Bull Connor,” citizen journalist Mike Vanderboegh reminded Gun Rights Examiner this morning in a telephone interview while he was en route to the rally with Rhodes. He was referring to the notorious Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, who infamously told civil rights demonstrators “No, you will not get a permit in Birmingham, Alabama to picket. I will picket you over to the City Jail.”

Rhodes then promised he would keep Gun Rights Examiner apprised of developments, including if they are successful in getting an injunction to reverse the ban, and advised they’ll also be appearing later in the day at a rally in West Springfield, where authorities have not only been supportive and cooperative, but where the mayor is scheduled to speak.

In the mean time, Gun Rights Across America Massachusetts is reporting on their Facebook page that the Lexington rally is cancelled while the Oath Keepers page promises “We will be gathering on the Battle Green to direct attendees to the new location for this rally.”

“Permit or not, speeches or not, I intend to take a stroll on Lexington Green Friday,” Vanderboegh pledged on his Sipsey Street Irregulars blog. “Let them arrest me for that. Of course there is another rally in Massachusetts on Friday at which I will speak, and then I'll be at the Hartford rally in Connecticut on Saturday.”

Gun Rights Examiner will maintain contact with Vanderboegh and Rhodes and advise readers/update this report if and when new information becomes available.

UPDATE (Thursday, 4 p.m. Eastern):

Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes says that regardless of the outcome of the legal battle, he will be conducting an oath renewal ceremony on the Lexington Battle Green on April 19, prior to leaving to attend the second rally at West Springfield, Gun Rights Examiner was told in an email received moments ago.

"We have current serving, combat veterans and retired police who have traveled thousands of miles to stand on the Lexington Battle Green and renew their oaths, just as the militia of Massachusetts did in 1798, and even if the rally does not go forward, we will conduct that oath reaffirmation ceremony,” Rhodes said. “We will not let the town selectmen stifle our right to assemble and renew our oaths and pay our respects to our war dead of the Revolution and all who have fought for liberty since.

“If the town selectmen want to arrest us for simply standing on the Green an reaffirming our devotion to the Constitution, that will only confirm that they are modern day Loyalists and ‘Red Coats, and we hope the Lexington Police Officers use their discretion to simply let us take five minutes to stand together in solemn remembrance of our fallen brothers and sisters, raise our right hands, and renew our commitment to defend the Constitution, before we leave to attend the second rally in West Springfield,” he added.

“Will they do what is right?” Rhodes asked. “Or will they follow in the footsteps of Bull Connor? We will find out."

UPDATE 2 (Thursday, 7:50 p.m. Eastern):

Stewart Rhodes called in to report attorney Blake Filippi filed a motion to overturn the permit revocation and the judge will consider it overnight. They'll be on standby tomorrow morning at the court house, and if they are ruled against plan to immediately file an appeal with the State Supreme Court.

"Regardless, I will do the oath ceremony [at Lexington]," Rhodes pledged, saying he will be accompanied by "Oath Keeper cops," and that they'll appeal to any police who try to halt it by telling them they've come thousands of miles, that they only want five minutes to pledge fidelity to the Constitution, and then they'll be gone.

Rhodes told Gun Rights Examiner he expects to forward a copy of the motion for preliminary injunction later this evening, and this column will provide a third update if and when that document is received.

UPDATE 3 (Thursday, 9:50 p.m. Eastern): Verified Complaint, Redfern vs. Lexington

UPDATE 4 (Friday, 9:30 a.m. Eastern):

UPDATE FROM STEWART RHODES ON LEXINGTON

On way to Concord Bridge to pay our respects and will be on Lexington Green by 11:30 am.

We are also waiting for call from court in Woburn, and will stop there to hear decision of judge on our request for an injunction against Town of Lexington stopping rally.

Hopefully the judge will see the absurdity of preventing a bunch of current serving and retired military and police from rallying on Lexington Green out of supposed concern for our safety.

We are big boys and can take care of ourselves. We don't need "protection" from the town selectmen. Especially when their idea of "protecting" is to violate our rights, silence us and stop us from peaceably assembling, under threat of arrest.

We are not afraid of a couple of jihadists. If they show up, we'll kill or capture them.

But we all know that the selectmen care about our safety about as much as Bull Connor cared about the safety of the civil rights marchers in Birmingham Alabama. And they are using the same "safety" rationale to shut down free speech and assembly they don't like.

We hear that Lexington Green is swarming with police.

In contrast, this morning in nearby Concord there was a reenactment at Concord Bridge with a large crowd of on-lookers. That was not canceled. No one was arrested for their own good.

Apparently, only us veterans, cops, and current serving military get the benefit of public officials being so concerned for our safety that they will use force to keep us from risking ourselves on Lexington Green and will even put us in jail to make sure we are extra safe. Big Brother truly loves us. We are so blessed!

Whatever the judge decides to do, we intend on standing on Lexington Green and renewing our oaths just like the Massachusetts Militia did in 1798. If the judge rules against us, we will do the Oath on Lexington Green and then go to West Springfield to hold the rest of our event.

As for the manhunt for the jihadist on the run in nearby Watertown we hope he runs into us so we can end his spree.
It strikes us as perverse and absurd that the people in Watertown are being told to stay indoors and let the "professional protectors" handle it. That is exactly backwards from what a free people in a Republic are supposed to do. In the Founders time, the hue and cry would have gone up, the people would have turned out en mass, muskets and hatchets in hand, and hunted the bastard(s) down post-haste.

How could a jihadist on the run escape if everyone in the community is actively hunting for him? They all know who lives in their neighborhood and who doesn't. They could all search their own houses and help search their neighbors' homes in short order and hunt him down.

But the message from the government is "there's a wolf on the loose! So all you sheep must stay in your pens and barns and let us authorized professional shepherds and sheep dogs handle it. Be afraid! Don't try to stop the wolf. We will search your pens one by one till we find him. Till then you cannot come out of your pens, or we will punish you." Disgusting.

How far we have fallen into slavery and servile dependence. And how far from being a strong, free people in a free Republic.

This is one of the best speechs I've heard...

Mike Vanderbeogh at the Lexington rally

http://youtu.be/XkjLlZu9uno

Stewart Rhodes - You Are Your Own Guardians http://youtu.be/nIBOsk67aQY

Jim Bleidner Administers The Oath
http://youtu.be/pGS4PUC9_u4

Please take the time to watch all the videos of the entire rally here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/PALINSMITH/videos