SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – San Diego Police are preparing for possible trouble at Chicano Park this weekend as a white nationalist group is scheduled to have a gathering at the park Saturday and counter demonstrators said they will be there too.
Like thousands of other community members, musician Moises Reynoso goes to Chicano Park in Barrio Logan to celebrate his heritage.
The park has been a gathering place since the early 1970’s for the Hispanic community: From family picnics to artistic expression to political activism.
This weekend, though, a right-wing white nationalist group called Bordertown Patriots will hold a demonstration at the park.
Last September, the group also descended on Chicano Park to protest its murals portraying Mexican-American icons and celebrating Aztec culture.
An event that drew hundreds of counter protesters as well as heavy police presence to maintain the peace.
Bordertown Patriots plan to return to the park on Saturday morning to hold what they are calling a ‘patriot clinic’ – during which it plans to raise an American flag in place of the Aztec one.
Just like last fall, counter demonstrators are also expected to show up. Many of them already organizing through social media, in their words, to “defend Chicano Park from the far-right.”
They added, “We will not be driven out by hate.”
San Diego Police are also prepared for Saturday. The department said that while they intend to protect everyone’s first amendment rights, “we will not tolerate violate, vandalism or other criminal acts. Should that occur, we will be prepared to take swift and decisive action.”
In response to the Bordertown Patriots’ planned event at Chicano Park Saturday, City Attorney Mara Elliot has issued an open letter requesting that the group remain “respectful of the people who frequent this park. As well as the laws that keep our residents safe.”