Pelosi challenges Park Service on permit for 'white supremacist' rally in San Francisco

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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is asking the National Park Service to reconsider a permit for what she called a “white supremacist rally” set for late August in San Francisco, in the wake of last weekend’s clashes in Charlottesville, Va.

“The NPS should reevaluate its decision and its capacity to protect the public during such a toxic rally,” Pelosi said in a statement.

A report in the San Francisco Examiner said the rally by the pro-Trump group Patriot Prayer is slated for Aug. 26 at San Francisco’s Crissy Field. The leader of that group has held other rallies and recently spoken out against white supremacy views, though critics like Pelosi have linked the group to white nationalists.

Pelosi, well before Tuesday’s statement, has been harshly critical of the Trump administration’s response to Charlottesville, where a protester demonstrating against a white supremacist rally was killed in a car attack. President Trump took heat for initially faulting violence on “many sides” though he specifically condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis on Monday.

Pelosi, in her statement, questioned whether the permit decision for the rally in San Francisco was made with input from the White House – without offering any proof to back up the suggestion.

Fox News has reached out to the NPS for comment.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which oversees the parkland, reportedly said Patriot Prayer has obtained permits.

The San Francisco Examiner report said counter-protests are being organized, as officials voiced concerns U.S. Park Police might not have enough staff to handle clashes at Crissy Field.

“San Francisco takes great pride in being a city of peace which cherishes free speech and the right to public dissent,” Pelosi said. “However, the National Park Service’s decision to permit a white supremacist rally at Crissy Field raises grave and ongoing concerns about public safety.”