SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Despite worries about violence at upcoming free-speech rallies in San Francisco, some people in the city synonymous with the “Summer of Love” plan to welcome their political opponents with unusual protests: a field of dog poop, red-nosed clowns and a giant inflatable chicken that bears the hairstyle of President Donald Trump.
Elsewhere in the city, children will gather in Golden Gate Park to “smother hate” with cuteness, and drag queens will march for equality in the historically gay Castro district. Protesters are also hoping to create a huge heart-shaped human banner on the beach.
Police in San Francisco are bracing for conflict Saturday when a group called Patriot Prayer hosts a “freedom rally” near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge to the dismay of Mayor Ed Lee and other Democrats who say the group invites hate.
Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson has pushed back, saying the group disavows racism and hatred.
The civic leaders are on edge following the Aug. 12 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly.
An unpermitted anti-Marxist gathering hosted by a transgender Trump supporter is scheduled in Berkeley on Sunday. The anti-Trump organization By Any Means Necessary, which has sometimes supported violent tactics, has vowed to shut it down, prompting worry among authorities that the two sides might clash.
Mayors of San Francisco and Berkeley are encouraging counter-protesters to rally away from the conservative gatherings, starting Friday at a noontime event at San Francisco City Hall.
Resident Tuffy Tuffington said he came up with the idea to leave dog droppings at the site of Saturday’s event as an inside joke. He is calling for dog owners to let their pups do their thing at Crissy Field, and then return Saturday night or Sunday to clean up and “hug each other.”
“I was just thinking about Charlottesville and the general state of our nation, and just frustrated on how to react to these things,” he said.
The famously irate-looking fowl with Trump’s golden hair is expected to appear on a barge during Saturday’s rally under the Golden Gate Bridge in case Patriot Prayer fans were hoping for a photo featuring the iconic span.
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