The Boston Free Speech Movement's Rally was largely outnumbered by protesters, in light of the clashes in Charlottesville that left one woman and two policemen dead. The Movement has separated itself from radical right winged groups, stating it is a mixture of all political ideologies, they are only for peaceful protests, and are not affiliated with the Charlottesville riots. Shockingly, even President Trump was in support of counter protests against the group, after his initial comments did not address the issue of tolerating white supremacy in this country.

He seems to be supportive of the battle against hate now. The free speech group wants to peacefully engage in open debate about free speech and other civil liberties. However, the people of Boston were not having it and were not open to the idea of tolerating hate speech.

Tolerating intolerance

Counter-protesters made it known that the Free Speech rally would not accommodate hateful ideologies, such as white supremacy. The mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, warned far-right groups to not be violent if they showed up and would not allow signs or flags on sticks.

Republican Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, also stated his disapproval for radical violence. The counter-protesters believe this was not enough to discourage potential violence. 500 police officers were ready to stop violence and the city warned people to stay away from Boston Commons due to the likelihood of in the area.

With no numbers being produced yet, photos, video, and lifestreams showed that the rally was outnumbered by large numbers of people.

Both protests took place just a week following Charlottesville and the "Unite the Right" rally where suspect, James Fields Jr., drove his car into protesters injuring 19 and killing Heather Heyer. Small scuffles with the police in Boston resulted in 27 arrests and the appearance of riot police. Most arrests were for charges of disorderly conduct, with a few battery and assault charges. The event in Boston is only one of a few protests that have popped up around the country.

Protests against the radical right

Black Lives Matter's chapter in Houston is to hold a "Destroy the Confederacy" rally in Sam Houston Park.

The Mayor of Houston does not anticipate violence but has readied his police. Demolition of the "Spirit of the Confederacy" statue has been added to the city agenda, and plan to remove all Confederate monuments from public property. Dallas will also be holding a rally against white supremacy and a vigil to Heather Heyer. Police are not expecting any sort of issues to break out, however, just like Houston, they are prepared in the event of being met with violence. With protests popping up all over, it seems that states will now be speeding up the demolition of Confederate monuments and seeing more protests against hate speech.