Boston's Free Speech Rally Goes Bust vs. 40,000 Protesters

Boston’s ‘Free Speech’ Rally Goes Bust vs. 40,000 Protesters
One organizer said he’s “definitely” not coming back soon after tens of thousands drowned out 50 people and him in a gazebo.
Susan Zalkind 08.19.17 9:00 PM ET

BOSTON—Hours after he had been escorted from Boston Common in a police van, one of the organizers of the “free speech” rally was still shaken up.

“I honestly thought I was going to die in there,” Steven said of the “paddy wagon” in which he and 16 others were escorted from a gazebo that hosted the “Boston Free Speech Rally.”

The Saturday afternoon event was billed as an event to advocate for First Amendment rights, but in wake of the violent Charlottesville meeting of white supremacists, it was widely thought to be another neo-Nazi rally.

That belief drew an estimated 40,000 people out to protest them, a human river that made the gazebo look like a speck by comparison. Separating two sides were acres of grass, gates, and police. The city had deployed more than 500 officers to the event.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/bostons-free-speech-rally-goes-bust-vs-40000-protesters