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CMPD: No Word From Anticom On Plans For December March

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department used its weekly press conference Wednesday to address a “March against Communism” event in which white nationalist Richard Spencer is a scheduled speaker. Last week the group Anticom tweeted its intentions to have the march Dec. 28 in Marshall Park.

Spencer led the rally that turned deadly last month in Charlottesville, Va.

But CMPD says Anticom has not filed for any permits. CMPD has also reached out to the organization, but as of Wednesday morning had not heard back.

If the event takes place, Deputy Chief Jeff Estes says CMPD will work to ensure that protests and counterprotests are peaceful.

"One thing that will not be tolerated is any violence or property damage," Estes says. "Chief Putney is adamant about that as an organization that is something we will not stand for. Anyone who commits an act of violence during this alleged event will be held accountable."

He says CMPD has heard from hundreds of Charlotteans and from people outside the state expressing concerns around the announced event.

Estes says groups don't need a permit to assemble in Marshall Park,  but permits are needed to use amplified sound or have a street closure.

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.