Groups urge Los Angeles mayor to revoke permit for white supremacist gathering

LA mayor urged to stop white supremacist meeting

LOS ANGELES — Community activists and civil rights groups are urging the mayor of Los Angeles to revoke a permit allowing a white supremacist group to hold a weekend demonstration at City Hall.

Danielle Heck, a spokeswoman for the groups, said Wednesday the groups shouldn’t be allowed to gather because they practice hate speech and seek to incite violence.

She says she expects thousands of counter-protesters to oppose the National Socialist Movement’s event on Saturday.

National Socialist Movement regional director Jeffrey Russell Hall says the first amendment gives his group the right to gather.

A spokeswoman for the mayor referred questions to the Police Department.

Police Sgt. Lisa Turvey says the permit allowing some 150 white supremacists to gather was granted in March.