Mayor Michelle Wu indicated Wednesday no change in her plans to headline a “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18 after the outbreak of violence at a pro-Palestinian demonstration Tuesday night.
“We are a community that stands up for what we believe in, and we do so through peaceful demonstrations and safeguarding of everyone’s rights,” said Wu when asked about the No Kings protest at an unrelated event Wednesday morning.
The protest is scheduled to take place at the Parade Grounds on Boston Common, at Charles and Beacon Streets, on Oct. 18, coinciding with a planned day of action and No Kings rallies across the country. Wu will be featured as a headliner with “other leading voices of resistance,” event organizers said in a release.
Event organizers described the protest as demonstrating “America has No Kings” and “action against the Trump regime’s authoritarian abuses, cruelty and corruption.”
As of last week, organizers said, over 2,100 local protests were scheduled across 50 states, on track to exceed the over 5 million protesters during the June 14 No Kings day of action.
The event is scheduled about 11 days out from an outbreak of violence during a pro-Palestinian protest Tuesday night. Police have stated four officers were taken to the hospital with injuries following an altercation with protestors, and one protestor was charged with assault and battery on a police officer resulting in serious injury as of Wednesday, while 12 others were charged with other offenses.
Wu said Wednesday Boston was “built on the right to speak your mind and protest peacefully.”
“At the same time, we do not tolerate violence in Boston,” Wu said. “And anyone who is considering coming to be part of situation in order to cause harm or or to attack our police officers or to hurt or injure others should stay away.”
Asked about the possibility of federal intervention in Boston, like cities including Chicago, Memphis and LA have seen, Wu said she is “following those cases very closely, watching and coordinating on the legal precedents with our attorney general’s office and and learning from what has been happening in other cities.”
“We know the federal government is looking for any and every opportunity to illegally extend their power,” Wu said.
On the No Kings protest, the mayor noted the importance of standing up when “seeing rights around the country today being taken away or threatened with the actions of a federal government intent on attacking communities who represent diversity and leadership, innovation, life saving research.”
“So in order to ensure that we are taking care of our residents, we are going to be firm about who Boston is and what we stand for,” Wu said.
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