HOT SPRINGS, Ark.-The Confederate Square Group will hold a demonstration today on Arlington Lawn in Hot Springs National Park to show support for preserving monuments to Confederate history.
"After being in Charlottesville (Va.) and seeing the backlash and the tidal wave of monuments being destroyed and took down, I'm more determined now to have my rallies than ever," said James Brock, a Hot Springs man who organized and obtained a permit for the demonstration from the National Park Service.
Brock said today's demonstration will not support neo-Nazism, white supremacy or white nationalism, but will focus on the preservation of monuments to Confederate history.
"We are a constitutionally based, free speech institution for all Americans, and the rights of all Americans, by the Constitution," Brock said.
Brock said he attended last week's rally in Charlottesville with a group who travels across the country in an effort to preserve Confederate monuments.
The group was given a permit to demonstrate on Arlington Lawn from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, and plans to hold its event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is the third one of its kind to be held on Arlington Lawn in 2017.
"First Amendment activities, such as demonstrations at our national parks, are activities protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution," Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Josie Fernandez said Thursday.
"The NPS adheres to the regulatory framework in 36 CFR 2.51. It is this provision that enables parks to accommodate First Amendment activity at designated spaces within the park, while also protecting park resources and values, and minimizing the impact on park visitors and park operations," Fernandez said.
Section 2.51 states that demonstrations involving more than 25 persons are permissible by permit on federal lands, provided they do not involve the construction of stages, platforms or structures, or interfere with other activities held on the land.
"All requests for similar activities are treated equally. As long as permit criteria and requirements set forth by the park are met, no group wishing to assemble lawfully will be discriminated against or denied the right of assembly," she said.
"The safety of our employees and our visitors is our top priority. We are engaged with local, county and state officials in event planning to provide for public safety during permitted demonstrations," she said.
Fernandez said park personnel will be present at the demonstration to ensure the conditions of the permit are met, as they have done in the past.
City Manager David Frasher said Thursday the city of Hot Springs has collaborated with the Park Service, the Garland County Sheriff's Department and Arkansas State Police to develop a "very comprehensive" response plan to today's planned demonstration.
"We're very determined to avoid a Charlottesville tragedy here in Hot Springs," Frasher said, adding they are "leaving nothing to chance."
"We will be devoting additional resources and assets to ensure a safe event," Hot Springs Police Chief Jason Stachey said Thursday. "We will not tolerate violence or the intentional destruction of property in any shape or form. Those individuals that intend to promote or engage in violent or destructive acts will face immediate criminal charges."
Fernandez said violent activity referenced by Stachey is not protected by the Constitution.
"From the National Park Service point of view, it is our duty to not abridge people's constitutional rights, and we have an obligation to manage the time and the place," she said.
"Basically, free speech is protected no matter what the content is. What is not protected is going and bashing somebody in the head, that sort of thing," she said. "Speech, no matter what, is protected, no matter if you agree with it or not."
Fernandez said she has been asked why she is allowing the demonstration to take place on federal land.
"Because we live in freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution and which cannot be abridged by the government," she said.
"Having lived under oppression (in Cuba) I'm thankful and grateful that I now live with freedom of expression and all the responsibilities that go with it. I hope my actions demonstrate how much I truly believe this to be so," she said.
Fernandez said the decision to allow demonstrations was "made a long time ago," and the violence in Charlottesville did not have any impact on the decision.
"Issuing a permit is not an endorsement of the content being expressed," she said.
"I don't have to like it; I'm not saying in one way or another that I like what's going on," she said. "It's really important that people understand that this is what the Constitution guarantees."