. >> juliette, we're talking about joey gibson, the organizer of patriot prayer. it was a strange day. like, we were geared up, then we moved over to alamo square where we thought something might happen, but then i got a text from joey himself. he said to meet him here in pacifica at fairmont park, and they held a short news conference. >> i really don't see this as a loss. i see this as an opportunity for america to wake up. >> joey gibson, organizer of the patriot prayer, says the arrangement was not going to keep him and his group safe, and he insists that was a surprise to him. so he pulled the plug. >> we had to cancel the rally. we all decided together. it was the best thing to do for the city. okay. because the way it was set up is that a lot of innocent people were going to get hurt. that's a fact. okay. a bunch of supporters, a bunch of antifa, communists, normal liberals would have been mixed together. it would have a huge riot and disaster. >> gibson says his rally was supposed to be a conversation among moderates, and despite the fact that some of his

. >> that's joey gibson. you'll hear more from him in minutes. along with the mayor of san francisco who is against this event. our live team coverage starts in minutes. >>> first, an "abc7 news" i-team exclusive that's new at 6:00. >> these are our dead. this is not a poltergeist joke. it's not halloween. >> it is a sensitive issue for native americans whose ancestors lived here hundreds of years ago. >> an i-team reporter dan noyes is here with more. >> reporter: it's been tough getting answers from the builder, from an indian descendant, but crews have dug up 32 skeletons in just two acre where is the homes are being built. the website for a southern california builder touts the project in fremont, elegant floor plans, priced around $1.2 million. no mention of the 32 indian skeletons they found there. one carbon dated to 650 years ago. tim fisher is the senior project manager. s the developer is not going to talk on camera about this? >> i'm sorry, we would just like to provide our native american representative the opportunity to address your

take david on cam buenas tardes paola...pues joey gibson culpo al alcade lee de manifestarse en contra de sus reuniones a travs de las redes sociales...dice el, sugiriendo que estaban motivadas por el odio y racismo... en otras palabras, segn gibson...el poltico le hecho leÑa al fuego... zoom pan out sin embargo, pues aqu los manifestantes continan esta celebracin de amor e igualdad...la msica an est resonando en todo el sector... hasta el momento, aqu no se ha efectuado ningn arresto o pelea... take full vo pero hablemos de lo que ocurri hace un par de horas... como recordarn, el lder de partriot prayer, joey gibson...seÑal que no continuara con los planes de las reuniones hoy...incluyendo una en el parque lamo por temor a que se desatarn las trifulcas entre los asistentes ya que dice el...los medios de comunicacin tornaron su acto de unin en algo negativo... es importante mencionar, que la cuidad si le haba permitido reunirse en una zona designada pero ellos no lo vieron justo y decidieron irse... de all, los contraprotestan tes se dirigieron del vecindario castro...hacia el centro c

joey gibson held a news conference miles away in pacifica and returned to san francisco when the commotion died down. >> how many more places you going to pop up in the city. >> i don't know, we'll see. pop up random spots here and there. >> reporter: he stayed in front of city hall for about an hour. >> reporter: joey gibson insists that he and some of his followers are not white supremacists. they simply wanted to organize an event in san francisco with a more conservative point of view. reporting live in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >>> san francisco police are also breathing a sigh of relief after today's protests. the police chief commending the thousands who participated. >> what you saw today was a city who came together. you saw a city who communicated and coordinated and an appropriate response from the police department. >> when all was said and done, only one person was arrested today. >>> in the east bay, hundreds created a human banner. they spelled out the words "end hate" all across the bay area, the day of protest has been violence free. but what about tomorrow? we're

one of gibson on the now..joey happening now..joey gibson on the phone...e orgainizers president trump pardoned controversial former sheriff joe arpaio yesterday.. this after arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt. he defied a judge's order related to his hard-line tactics going after undocumented immigrants. sara sidner reports. the case against arpaio and his department's behavior began in 2007.a class action lawsuit accused him of implementing a policy of racial profiling and unlawful traffic stops of latinos. arpaio was sued accused of encouraging his deputies to detain people for no other reason than they were suspected of being in the country illegally. known for his tough speakhis departments work place raids, the tent city where inmates were housed..and the pink underwear he made inmates wear arpaio argued his department was simply enforcing the law.joe arpaio/then-maricopa county sheriff: "i'm the elected sheriff, i report directly to the people, and i'm not going to be subservient to the federal government when they have come up with no proof.

>> reporter: of course, joey gibson is delighted that the park service gave him the permit. he says he's just exercising his constitutional right to free speech and that what he's trying to accomplish through his rallies is unity. joey gibson, leader of patriot prayer, is expecting hundreds to attend his rally saturday at chrissy field. >> there's going to be bernie supporters coming in, atheists, christians, muslims. i'm not surprised that they granted the permit. it's the first amendment. >> reporter: he said his rally is beyond politics. >> i do think people are drawn to the message of love, freedom. >> reporter: he says the last thing he wants is for violence to erupt like it did in charlottesville. >> i'm sick of antifa, the kkk, the white supremacists. >> reporter: but these rallies have been denounced as a form for white supremacists. house minority leader nancy pelosi opposed holding the rally. >> it's not a place where nazi sympathizers should come to spew forth their message. >> reporter: congresswoman jackie spear also opposed granting the permit, but she says it

a message from joey gibson made it clear, that would not happen. then he went live on facebook the announce an indoor news conference at 2:00. however, it was at a quiet pacifica park that gibson came forward from the shadows. >> i really don't see this as a loss. i see this as an opportunity for america to wake up, to understand. we can't let people silence others especially when we have such a positive message. >> reporter: he blames the media and the politicians for hijacking his message of unity and branding his movement as white supremacy. >> you have a mayor who says we're hateful and violent. doesn't bring up any specific examples but doesn't mention one word about antifa. >> reporter: several others expected to speak at the rally vented their frustration as well. >> i want people to understad that this rally from the beginning was about unity, free speech and patriotism. it was never an alternate right or white supremacist rally as the media has said. >> there's no way that i am a white supremac there's no way that i can support white supre

i see this as an opportunity for america to wake up. >> reporter: joey gibson said the arrange at theield wasn't going to keep him and his group safe, and he insists that was a surprise to him, so he pulled the plug. >> we had to cancel rally. we all decided together it was the best thing to do for the city okay, because the way it was set up a lot of innocent people were going to get hurt. that's a fact. a bunch of supporters, antifa communists, it would have been a huge riot, not just for the movement, but for san francisco, for the west coast, for the country. >> reporter: gibson says his rally was supposed to be a conversation for moderates, and despite the fact that some of his past patriot prayers were attended by white supremacist, he doesn't understand why he's been labeled a white nationalist. >> one shows up and i'm labeled one. the extremists are the problems on both sides, that's why the moderates have to come together. >> reporter: the patriot prayer organizers are multicultural. but i asked gibson why he decided to go through with his plan to bring patriot prayer here to

hours after a plan to rally in san francisco saturday, patriot prayer founder joey gibson is callingt off. he says he plans to hold a press conference instead, not far from the civic center. >> we have decided that tomorrow really seems like a set up. it doesn't seem face. a lot of people's lives are going to be in danger tomorrow. >> before making that is surprise announcement, gibson spoke to us about his philosophy and why he wants to come to the bay area. mr. gibson, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> what does your group patriot prayer stand for? >> it's not so much a group. it's more of a philosophy but it's really about bringing love and peace, promoting free speech and freedom. getting away from the politics, don't really care who you vote for. left or right. but it's really about bringing together good people and focus on the cultural problems we have in the country. >> house minority leader nancy pelosi calls your gathering a white supremacy gathering. what is it about your message do you they resonates with white supremacists? they do show up to the rallies as w

video posted before the official notification he seemed the pleased with the security planssot joey gibson/patriot prayergreat environment (vicki) and the parks service released this map - outlining where protesters are allowed to demonstrate. zone one - which is outlined in red - is the permitted area... the parks department is asking people to avoid the area that's outlined in blue. the n-p-s... is asking visitors to avoid the presidio due to the event. (vicki) and in the event - that violence erupts during the protest.... a couple criminal defense attorney's are already offering their services for free... to those arrested for assaulting neo- nazis or white supremacists at the rally. the pier five law offices in san francisco... will be providing pro bono legal services to counter-demonstrators. the group releasing this statement today... "racism is vile. should a counter-demonstrator be charged with a violent crime against a neo-nazi or white supremacist at the patriot prayer event, lawyers at our office will represent that person regardless... of their ability to pay for our services.

joey gibson is a member of patriot prayer which is promoting the so called freedom rally.this is not a white supremicist rally says accusations to the contrary are lies. sotthis is a direct attack on our country an attack on free speechbut the mayor is standing firm.sot we do enjoy free speech but i suggest to you there is a difference between free speech and hate speech with the intent of causing violence that must be distinguished in urban setting like san francisco.133/like san francisco house minority leader from san francisco...nancy pelosi put out this statement on the planned rally at crissy field:"i am deeply alarmed by the hateful and dangerous nature of the event, its timing so soon after the horrors in charlottesville, and the serious questions over whether the national park service is at all equipped to ensure public safety during a white supremacist rally."we must wonder, where is the decision to permit a white supremacist rally in a national park being made? at the national park service? in the department of the interior? or under guidance from the white hous

he's joey gibson and he says he was only talking about peace and promoting peace. to you about his experience. don't touch that dial. stay right there. us... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. tap one little bumper and up go your rates. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance. >> liz: okay we're kind of taking you on a round trip from the story of texas mother nature to human nature at its best in texas, the best of humanity, outpouring of health for texans now to this. human nature at its worst. black clad anarchist group attacked at least five people including my next guest at sunday's peaceful anti-communism anti-marksism rally in berkeley, california. the founder of the patriot prayer group joey gibson who was pepper sprayed and beaten by those rioters. first

has posted a video saying this is not a white supremicist rally .sot joey gibson/patriot prayer 1 lets talk about logic , we have a black speaker a hispanic speaker we got an asian, we got a brown man right here and a transsexual and we aren't talking about race we are talking about america , freedom and love and godbut san francisco mayor ed lee isn't buying it.sotpeople are coming here to comit violence, not to have an academic dialogue, not to have a fire chat on difrferences of opinion, they are coming here to promote violence. 149/to promote violence (pam) thank you dan (grant) a day after protesters plan to rally at crissy field. they will cross the bay to berkeley. the east bay city has seen this before --- two protests earlier this year turned bloody. kron-4's (grant) dan thank you (pam) (pam) thank you dan (grant) a day after protesters plan to rally at crissy field. they will cross the bay to berkeley. the east bay city has seen this before --- two protests earlier this year turned bloody. kron-4's gabe slate joins us live from where the latest rally is expected to go down..

joey gibson is a member of patriot prayer which is promoting the so called freedom rally. he says this is not a white supremicist rally says accusations to the contrary are lies. sotthis is a direct attack on our country an attack on free speechbut the mayor is standing firm.sot we do enjoy free speech but i suggest to you there is a difference between free speech and hate speech with the intent of causing must be distinguished in urban setting like san francisco.standup dan kerman/sf 133-143step 1 in stopping it is to send the us. park demanding they reevaluate the situation. the city has done that and is now awaiting response. at crissy field, dan kerman kron 4news. (grant) house minority leader from san francisco...nan cy pelosi put out this statement on the planned rally at crissy field: "i am deeply alarmed by the hateful and dangerous nature of the event, its timing so soon after the horrors in charlottesville, and the serious questions over whether the national park service is at all equipped to ensure public safety during a white supremacist rally."we must wonder,

he also praised the security plan in this online video.sot joey gibson/patriot prayer 117-121 we're going to have huge fences, like it's going to be on lockdown, people who come in will be searched, it's going to be a great environment.130/great environment (steve) thank you dan. now not only are city leaders worried. but so are businesses in the area of crissy field. (steve) there are several businesses nearby where the protest is set to happen. and some are choosing to close their doors. that includes the family friendly "house of air" and sports basement. the presidio trust also says parts of the presidio itself will be closed during the protest. a house of air supervisor says they're shutting down for safety reasons. (steve) several businesses say they will take extra precautions. including barricaded windows and locking down merchandise. but they are hopeful there will not be any vandalism. (steve) kron four continues its conversations with the bay area's congress

joey gibson.... the leader of patriot prayer, he's wearing the black hat, his hands in the air.gibson says his groups mission is free speech.but political leaders have said the group's rally's attract white supremacists.something gibson has denounced."i'm in the middle, so that's why i don't appreciate when people call me alt right. white supremacist, people try and put a label on me but you can't because i'm not even conservative."before the rally in berkeley he told me he planned to attend...we asked him why?"so i'm just going to observe the situation and see what's happening, i don't want to just leave, i want to see. we have americans going into berkeley today and i don't want to just leave, i want to observe the situation and go from there."but once he got to the rally, the crowd chased gibson and his supporters out of the park... even getting hit by some type of spray, then a fight starts and the crowd chases him down the street.(nats)the same thing happened to several other people believed to b

joey gibson, the organizer for patriots for prayer. be sure to go to ktvu.com. we have a complete list of those restricted items for saturday's rally. >>> president trump struck a more unified tone today in his speech at the american legion can tension. this less than 24 hour after he delivered an off-the-cuff speech where he went after everyone. we have more from washington. >>> after with so many described as divisive and polarizing speech in phoenix last night, today in reno the president is planning to spread a message of unity. >> we are one people, with one home, and one great flag. >> reporter: president trump addressing veterans at the american legion and reno, nevada. the commander in chief is hoping to ease the country's tension after the conflict is charlottesville, whether triggered protests across the nation. . >> it is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us. >> reporter: unity that some argue will now be tough to find with a nation still very much divided. last night, demonstrator pro

the thing joey gibson and his fellow organizers kept repeating was that they didn't want violence, but they worried there might have been violence here or at alamo square because the event had been billed as a white supremacist rally.organizers say that description of their group was wrong. after cancelling the patriot prayer rally in crissy field, then announcing a press conference in alamo square only to have it blocked off by police, joey gibson told reporters to meet him in pacifica for a quick press conference."we gotta be in, we gotta be out. basically all day that's what it's gonna be like - going from spot to spot, trying to hide from people who dress like ninjas. they run around, they wanna burn stuff down, they wanna commit violence."he was referring to antifa and 'by any means necessary,' or bamn, whom he thought might try to find his small group in pacifica and cause problems.as far as we could tell, counter- demonstrators never showed up. patriot prayer organizers say, though white supremacists have shown up at others of their rallies in the past, they denounce them, along

the leader of patriot prayer, joey gibson called off the official rally saying he felt it could lead to conflicts between the two groups. he ended up having a news conference in pacifica this afternoon and mad unannounced vizzed to crissy field. he spoke to people here for about an hour and left as tensions began to rise. >> we have so much hatred in this country right now. it's done on purpose and we cannot go forward. there's no president, there's no leader that can fix our problem at a grass roots level. it has to be amongst us. >> gibson says that the message he wants to promote is one of moderates coming together and he says he feelts his message has been hijacked and he does not believe in white supremacy or neo-naziism, that he really is just trying to promote peace and unity. live in san francisco. tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. >>> a large crowd rallied against hate in the castro district today. joining a large counterrally that was already there. abc 7 news reporter is live outside city hall. lisa. >> reporter: this event is just about wrapped up. it ran from 12:00 to 5:00 tod

one person removed by police was joey gibson, the head of patriot prayer who came to the park. others were also escorted out by police. >> they want us to walk back to our car when people just threatened us. they think we are white supremacists no matter what. >> reporter: johnny describes himself as being a part of the america first movement. he came from orange county. but that he and his companion were forced out of the park by counter-protesters. >> people in masks came and surrounded us. they wanted to drag us away for trying to incite. from the side. >> it is the violent and the arrest. >> reporter: other trump supporters came to the park even though the protest was canceled. they look to express their opinion. >> there are people with rallies no matter what side they are on and they are just bullying them out there. especially when those rallies are about free speech. >> reporter: we saw numerous people with their hands zip tied and taken away by police. no one wearing a mask could be used as a weapon was allowed into the park. some counter-protesters set off purple smok

sot joey gibson/patriot prayer 147-157 they're taking the security very serious.there will be large, a huge separation between protesters and supporters, so that is good standup dan kerman/sf 158-210 that patriot prayer rally getting underway at 2pm on saturday.. counter demonstration sponsored by the city both friday at noon and saturday afternoon. at crissy field dan kerman kron 4 news. 213/std (grant) just across the bay... berkeley is also bracing for an alt-right rally... and counter protests this weekend. the "no to marxism in america" rally is scheduled for sunday. at the martin luther king junior civic center park starting at 1:00 in the afternoon. a counter protest is scheduled earlier that day at u-c berkeley's crescent lawn....that is just a few blocks away from the alt-right rally. berkeley has seen a few voilent demonstrations this year, like this one in in april...between president trump's supporters and anti-trump protesters. city officials, congresswoman barbara lee and others are urging ácounter-protesters to stay away sunday...to avoid violence..

"patriot prayer" organizer joey gibson is planning tomorrow's rally. he is the pro-trump activist saying he does not want another charlottesville. the fight started at his "patriot prayer" in portland a couple of weeks ago but gibson says he comes in peace. in fact, on facebook, he blasted san francisco's mayor for not speaking out about violence by left wing activists. >> the mayor of san francisco, i don't even know his name, i don't care what his name s the truth is if he truly was against violence he would go on tv and said i disavow all the violence in san francisco. i disavow all the violence everywhere. no! no, no, no. that's fine! it's fine to burn down san francisco if you are wearing all black. >> reporter: some of his invited guests are people of color. so he is saying he is proving now that he is not a white supremacist. several other rallies are planned for saturday at the same time of this rally which is supposed to start at 2:00 but it may start earlier. and people are gathering at ocean beach, volunteers there will create a heart on oce

that's why we want joey gibson back. he joins us. a good friend of mine, a reporter covering you, called me after this happened and said he never saw anything like it. the violence erupted so far all aimed at you. there's police all around. why did none of them come to your aid as you were being beaten in the head and pepper-sprayed? >> we talked to quite a few police officers. most police officers join the fios because they want to help people out in these situations. there's people higher up not allowing them to do it. we didn't want to stand around and watch. we have mayors around california and the country using the police force for their own political gain. >> did you -- this is the third time you've been on this show. you've been repeatedly described as an alt right figure, a white nationalist. you've said none of that is true. i believe you. i just want to be clear. did you say anything provocative, use racial slurs, do you say anything before you were pepper sprayed and hit in the head? >> no. we preach love. that's our thing

when a fight started at the "patriot prayer" event in portland two weeks ago but the organizer joey gibson says he comes to san francisco in peace. he does not want another portland or charlottesville. on facebook, he blasted san francisco mayor lee for not speaking out about violence by left wing activists. he invited people of color. volunteers will create a huge human heart at the ocean beach and at civic center an event. in the mission, counter- protestors were making signs ahead of the "patriot prayer" rally. >> frisco resistance. [ speaking spanish ] his group does not represent our america. we are the grassroots. we are the people of color on the streets. if they have some token people of color there that are being puppeteered and they are not conscious of that, then they should come over here and get some lessons from us. >> reporter: now, to prevent any kind of violence, crissy field will be divided into two zones. no pedestrian, bike or vehicle access from golden gate bridge. streets will be closed in the presidio and crissy field and the only way on to crissy field tomorrow will

take sots y es que aunque el organizador de la plegaria de los patriotas, joey gibson habia denunciadoa los supremacistas y neonazis y proclamado que solo venia a promover un mensaje de libertad, paz y patriotismo... hay una gran desconfianza hacia los elementos radicales que suelen presentarse en sus eventos armados y dispuestos a causar disturbios.... paola on cam habia cuatro contra protestas planeadas para manana aqui en crissy fields y en otras partes de la ciudad y la bahia, seguramente esas continuaran como estan previstas y la pregubta ahora es que sucedera en berkeley el domingo donde a otro grupo se le nego el permiso para concentrarse tendremos mas de esta noticia en desarrollo a las once.. take topvo / cesar --en berkeley, una de las organizadoras de la denominada marcha antimarxista indic que no se concentrarn en la ciudad de berkeley el domingo por dudas en la seguridad de los asistentes --- --- la ciudad el da de ayer neg el permiso de esta manifestacin --- --- grupos en contra de movimientos nacionalistas estaran haciendo un llamado para al menos tres manifestaciones...

the leader of patriot prayer, joey gibson called off the official rally saying he felt it could lead to conflicts between the two groups. he ended up having a news conference in pacifica this afternoon and made an unannounced vizzed to crissy field. he spoke to people here for about an hour and left as tensions began to rise. >> we have so much hatred in this country right now. it's done on purpose and we cannot go forward. there's no president, there's no leader that can fix our problem at a grass roots level. it has to be amongst us. >> gibson says that the message he wants to promote is one of moderates coming together and he says he feelts his message has been hijacked and he does not believe in white supremacy or neo-naziism, that he really is just trying to promote peace and unity. live in san francisco. tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. >>> a large crowd rallied against hate in the castro district today. joining a large counterrally that was already there. abc 7 news reporter is live outside city hall. lisa. >> reporter: this event is just about wrapped up. it ran from 12:00 to 5:00

on social media, organizer joey gibson, seen in the upper right corner, announced that the demonstration would no longer be at crissy field. he said he didn't feel safe after being labeled a white supremacist. at a community meeting in the marina last night, the san francisco police chief told concerned residents that the department already was planning for surprises and is prepared to hands whatever unfolds today. city leaders clearly are frustrated by the far right group's tactics. >> i think the message right now is we do not trust this group. it is clear that their intent from day one has just been to cause chaos in san francisco. >> police tell us they're already patrolling alamo state park. meanwhile counterdemonstrations aiming to send a message of love both at the castro and civic center plaza are still a go for today. >>> in berkeley, the leader of another conservative group is telling supporters to stay home. amber cummings, the organizer of tomorrow's anti-marxism rally at civic center park says she's been concerned all week about who might come to her event. she doesn't want

dan noyes has a closer look at joey gibson and what he's trying do. that's at abc7news.com and on the abc 7 news app. >>> the other big rally is scheduled to take place sunday in berkeley and late today, the permit for the anti-marxist event was denied. >> that isn't expected to stop people from showing up. >> cornell is live in berkeley with the latest. >> reporter: tonight another plea to stay away from sunday's rally. this time from berkeley's police chief who says he's got a plan to curb potential violence. >> reporter: the berkeley police chief gave some advice at this forum about sunday's planned anti-marxism raelly. >> stay away from downtown berkeley. >> reporter: but he knows that won't stop many from coming out, even after they sent this to amber cummings that the city is unable to issue a permit citing lack of security raemtss. the chief says extra officers will be on duty around the event, some from allied agencies. they're hoping to avoid ugly clashes like this last spring which resulted in injuries and dozens of arrests. this time police

. >> reporter: this "patriot prayer" organizer joey gibson insists he doesn't want another violent clashike in charlottesville. a fight start at the event in portland but gibson says he comes to san francisco in peace. on facebook, he blasted san francisco mayor lee for not speaking out about violence on the left. >> the the mayor of san francisco, i don't even know what his name is, i don't care what his name is. the truth is, though, if he truly was against violence, then he would go out on tv and he would say, i disavow all the violence. no. no. that's fine. it's fine to burn down san francisco if you're wearing all black. >> reporter: gibson says some of his invited guests are people of color so that proves he is not a white supremacist. but people associate his movement with white nationalism. so they are protesting. >> frisco resistance. [ non-english language ] >> reporter: in the mission, counter-protestors are making signs. >> his group does not represent our america. >> reporter: it's the past violence back and forth bickering online and in person that has police and hospitals

dan noyes has a closer look at joey gibson and what he's trying do. that's at abc7news.com and on the abc 7 news app. >>> the other big rally is scheduled to take place sunday in berkeley and late today, the permit for the anti-marxist event was denied. >> that isn't expected to stop people from showing up. >> cornell is live in berkeley with the latest. >> reporter: tonight another plea to stay away from sunday's rally. this time from berkeley's police chief who says he's got a plan to curb potential violence. >> reporter: the berkeley police chief gave some advice at this forum about sunday's planned anti-marxism raelly. >> stay away from downtown berkeley. >> reporter: but he knows that won't stop many from coming out, even after they sent this to amber cummings that the city is unable to issue a permit citing lack of security raemtss. the chief says extra officers will be on duty around the event, some from allied agencies. they're hoping to avoid ugly clashes like this last spring which resulted in injuries and dozens of arrests. this time police

the organizer, joey gibson spoke with us. >> we are going to have black and hispanic, muslim and atheist speakers. we are extremely diverse. it is irresponsible to call me a white supremacy. sue gibson says it is unfair to compare his events to the clash in charlottesville. but there is some concern that right-wing extremists may attend. >> things are a little scary. and it is scary for the community. >> people need freedom of speech. but in a city a city like this, with our diversity and our claimant, we should not be concerned for the well-being of our people. >> and people were called to ignore the event and attend a peace rally at city hall instead. >> i ask our residents and the public to honor our requests, to not dignify people who are coming in under the guise of patriot and prayer words. >> the mayor and other politicians he says are unfounded and his goal is to bring people together on a grassroots level. >> a lot of conservatives do not like my message. i go right or left depending on the issue. i am against the drug war and the patriot act and i don't like in this war. you ca

se planeaban cuatro contra protestas en este mismo sitio y el organizador joey gibson cito como la razonla cancelacion, el que a pesar de que tenian un permiso y que pensaban que el area estaria cercada se habian enterado que las medidas de seguridad no serian suficientes para mantener a los patriotas y contra manifestantes separados.... el grupo tambien se defendio de las acusaciones del alcalde ed lee, quien hoy lidero un rally frente a la alcaldia denominado "san francisco unido contra el odio" sot ed lee take vo2 durante este evento representantes politicos, lideres religiosos y comunitarios, hicieron un llamado a la unidad, el amor y la compasion.... al final del dia, san francisco parece haber triunfado en su esfuerzo para dejarle saber a los grupos auto- denominados patriotas que no son bienvenidos en esta ciudad..... paola on cam entretanto, los patriotas dicen que en lugar del rally aqui en crissy field celebraran una conferencia de prensa manana a las dos en alamo square para hablar de la razon de la cancelacion... aun no esta claro si los contra manifestantes intentaran acudir

. >> abc 7 news spoke with the man behind the rally, joey gibson of vancouver, washington. he shared his reaction after securing his permit. here's reporter vic lee with the interview. >> joey gibson, leader of patriot prayer, is expecting hundreds of people to attend his rally saturday at crissy field. >> there's going to be bernie supporters coming in. we're going to have atheists, christians, muslims. >> he never doubted the park service would grant him the permit to hold the gathering. >> i'm not surprised. it's in the constitution, the first amendment. >> he told us his rally is beyond politics. >> i do think people are drawn to the positive message of love and kindness, free speech, freedom. >> he said the last thing he wants is for violence to erupt like it did in charlottesville and in seattle the day after. >> i don't want any >> the pot rite prayer rallies have been denounced by city leaders and other politicians as a form for white supremacists. house minority leader nancy pelosi opposed holding the rally at crissy field. >> it's not a place where nazi sympathize

officers escorted several people away with their hands zip tied including this man circled joey gibson. he's the founder of patriot's prayers. at one group counter-protesters set off purple smoke bombs to try to distract police. people dressed in black with their faces covered scaled barricades to confront trump supporters. >> people in masks came and surrounded us and they wanted to drag us away for trying to recite on the league. >> for us to leave this way is a shame. >> and now the protest started winding down around 3:00 this afternoon as police would use a smoke bomb to disperse the crowd. 13 people were arrested. mostly for bringing in forbidden items into the park. >>> people also demonstrated at crescent lawn speaking out against hate and racism. leigh martinez was at that protest as things got tense when the group came across some demonstrators. >> reporter: it started out like a college pep rally with several thousand people including children rooting for the same cause. love and inclusion thousands would begin marching through the streets of portland. along the way we found

. >> reporter: here is the man at the center of this, christian libertarian joey gibson. >> that's why the people of san francisco are so afraid of our message because the people at the top, they are doing everything they can to hold onto their power in san francisco. >> reporter: some of gibson's previous events have resulted in problems including this weekend in seattle one protesters of various stripes showed up and emotions nationwide has been stoked by the neo-nazi presence in charlottesville. to that point, the mayor describes this as an issue of public safety. >> we have demanded that the national park service reevaluate their permits. >> do you think there's any way they could have that event and they are not going to have some trouble? >> there will be some kind of trouble. i can feel it work i have maybe two friends that i actually have support me and the rest think i'm crazy. >> reporter: this is federal land and as of right now there's no indication that the park service is going to pull the plug on all of this. san francisco police say they are standing by to help if the e

the ap reporting tonight that patriot prayer founder joey gibson showed up today and was chased and pepper sprayed by counterdemonstrators. he was escorted out of the park by police for his own safety. live in berkeley, abc7 news. >> thank you. >>> clashes there and iteam reporter dan noyes was in the thick of it and back to talk about what he witnessed. live on set, we can see from the video you shot, it got pretty rowdy. >> a range of emotions in these confrontations. tense standoff, some humor and a bit of fear 37 but there was one moment i won't forget. someone from the left standing up for a trump supporter in trouble. >> reporter: police had a firm hold on the park when i spoke to shawn haynes during his arrest. he had gone through security and then put on his black mask. >> were you coming to cause trouble? >> i can neither confirm nor deny it. >> reporter: the calm before the melee give me a chance to speak with a college student and anarchist. >> i look like i'm ready to fight. >> reporter: he told me he's not there for violence but he couldn't say the same for his friends. >> i'm

later the patriot prayer organizer joey gibson spoke. >> we will have a bunch of speakers, black speakers, hispanic, and it is really diverse. i think it's irresponsible for them to call me a white supremacists this day. >> i think that tempers are too high and emotionally charged on both sides. i think it is scary for the community. >> i understand both sides and i do think people should have freedom of speech, but in a city like this with diverse city, we should look at security and well-being of the city. >> reporter: mayor ed lee denounced the permanent approval and the patriot prayer calling on people to ignore the event and to attend a peace rally at the city hall instead. >> i asked the residents of the san francisco bay area to honor our request to not dignify people that are coming in here under the guise of patriot prayer words. >> reporter: gibson said that the mayor and other politician words are unfounded and says his goal is to bring people together a crissy field on a grassroots level. >> a lot of conservatives don't like my message sometimes because i can go left, and that

protesters that were so close to the stage, and they were ready >>eporr: priot prayers founder joey gibsonold us from vancouver, washington he plans a similar rally on august 26th at krissy field in san francisco. >> talking about bringingthe country together. >> reporter: he wants the rally to be peaceful but predicts counterprotesters can change that. >> people need to be careful because if they say things out of ignorance they are stoking the violence. >> reporter: are planned. we found this post which call patriot prayer thugs. he denounced the violence in virginia and he is against hate. >> let's imagine we are a hate group, you can't shut us down because of that. >> reporter: some say krissy field is the wrong place for the rally. >> instead of being open and discussing things in a forum that's create, they create a forum that's violent and confrontational. >> reporter: representatives from the golden gate national recreation area would not go on camera but said patriot prayer has applied for a first amendment permit for the event which likely will be granted. say free speechotrs can

joey gibson, the head of the patriot prayer was removed, and others were also escorted out by the police. >> they want us to walk back to our car when people a threat does. they think we are white supremacists. no matter how much we say we are against white supremacy. >> reporter: describing himself as being part of the america first movement and saying he came from orange county to support the no to marxism rally but they were forced out of the park by the counter protesters. >> they came and surrounded us and wanted to drag us away. they were trying to incite us to leave. >> the fact that we have to leave this way is a shame. >> reporter: other trump supporters say they came to the park even though the protest was canceled looking for a space to express their opinion. >> if people threatened rallies no matter what side they are on they are bullying them. especially when the rallies are about free speech. >> reporter: there were numerous people that had their hands tied and taken away by the police and no one caring anything that could be used as a weapon was allowed in the park. counte

joey gibson, the founder of patriot prayer showed up in berkeley this afternoon. he soon found himself being chased by antifa activists, and pepper sprayed. gibson kept retreating down the street, along with a man in shoulder pads who appeared to be his bodyguard. a short time later, officers put gibson and that second man in hadn't cuffs. police tell the chronicle, this was actually a rescue to protect them from the group that was pursuing them. neither man was arrested. gibson had planned a patriot prayer rally yesterday at san francisco's crissy field, it was canceled citing fears of violence. >>> one especially ugly incident involved a man who was chased out of the park. he was pursued by a mob, hit with sticks, and eventually taken down in the middle of the street. he was completely surrounded. a couple of people did try to help, but it was several minutes before berkeley police showed up, and led him to safety. in another incident, police detained one woman. after she was led away, she tried to make a break for it. the woman did not get far. officers gave ch

. >> reporter: patriot prayers founder joey gibson told us from vancouver, washington he plans a similarally on august 26th at krissy field in san francisco. >> talking about bringingthe country together. >> reporter: he wants the rally to be peaceful but predicts counterprotesters can change that. >> people need to be careful because if they say things out of ignorance they are stoking the violence. >> reporter: counterprotests are planned. we found this post which call patriot prayer thugs. he denounced the violence in virginia and he is against hate. >> let's imagine we are a hate group, you can't shut us down because of that. >> reporter: some say krissy field is the wrong place for the rally. >> instead of being open and discussing things in a forum that's create, they create a forum that's violent and confrontational. >> reporter: representatives from the golden gate national recreation area would not go on camera but said patriot prayer has applied for a first amendment permit for the event which likely will be granted. others say free speech can't be denied. >> we do need some sp

joey gibson told us he knew all along he would be granted the permit to hold the rally because of freedom of speech. gibson also said the patriot prayer rally has nothing to do with president trump. >> what i'm trying to do is bigger -- it's beyond trump. it's beyond politics. we're talking about culture here right now. we're talking about love, respect, kindness, you know, honest, being good to one another and so we're not throwing a trump rally. >> city leaders have denounced patriot prayer rallies in other cities for having been a forum for white supremacists. gibson says the last thing he wants to see is the kind of violence that erupted in charlottesville which was unrelated to his group. saturday's rally is planned from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at crissy field. several counterprotests are scheduled nearby. there's also a rally at noon at harvey milk plaza are in the castro and at the civic center at 1:00 p.m. we have the information on our abc 1 news app and on abc7news.com. >>> and there will be a site of a rally of hate and violence on saturday. racial justice leaders want to counter a r

the ap reporting tonight that patriot prayer founder joey gibson showed up today and was chased and pepper sprayed by counterdemonstrators. he was escorted out of the park by police for his own safety. live in berkeley, abc7 news. >> thank you. >>> clashes there and iteam reporter dan noyes was in the thick of it and back to talk about what he witnessed. live on set, we can see from the video you shot, it got pretty rowdy. >> a range of emotions in these confrontations. tense standoff, some humor and a bit of fear 37 but there was one moment i won't forget. someone from the left standing up for a trump supporter in trouble. >> reporter: police had a firm hold on the park when i spoke to shawn haynes during his arrest. he had gone through security and then put on his black mask. >> were you coming to cause trouble? >> i can neither confirm nor deny it. >> reporter: the calm before the melee give me a chance to speak with a college student and anarchist. >> i look like i'm ready to fight. >> reporter: he told me he's not there for violence but he couldn't say the same for his friends. >> i'm

gibson raced down a street >>> well, joey gibson, founder of patriot prayer, showed up this afternoon in berkeley and soon he found himself being chased by antifa activists and pepper sprayed. gibson kept retreating down the street along with a man in shoulder pads who appeared to be his bodyguard. a short time later officers put gibson and that second man in handcuffs, but police say this was actually a rescue to protect them from the group pursuing them. neither man was arrested. gibson had planned a patriot prayer rally yesterday at san francisco's crissy field, but you probably know by now that was canceled because of fear of violence. >>> take a look here. >>> in another incident police detained one woman, but she tried to make a break for it after she was let go. officers took her back into custody. >>> chopper 5 found a sniper standing guard on top of a berkeley rooftop where hundreds of protesters gathered right below him. >>> hundreds gathered this morning for a unity rally. their sign says resist hate, racism, patriarchy and war, but the tranquility was soon disrupted as pro

joey gibson is the man behind the patriot prayer rally that never happened in san francisco saturday.he canceled it less than 24 hours before it happened, for one main reason:"you have these antifa punks - three or four of them - or anarchists, that show up dressed in all black and they start burning things down, they start breaking windows, and they hijack the whole message."other co-organizers say they feared for their safety as they saw elected leaders label their rally as white supremacist gathering."i have received threats - numerous threats - since this has happened, and it's all based on lies."organizers say they also worried violence would break out because police decided to allow rally-goers and protesters to intermingle. "it's a no-brainer. we here in nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, so we don't have the violence. we don't want the violence."they insisted they're not in town to promote racism, but to support love, peace, and freedom - no matter your political affiliation. "until we bring these moderates together and we stand against the extremists, it's going to be the same

. >> joey gibson says he will not answer any questions until the news conference tomorrow.ut san francisco mayor ed lee for not speaking out against antifa. he says he hopes police will protect his people tomorrow. this comes after weeks of preparation including fencing and concrete barriers that went up today. the group plans to go to sunday's rally in berkeley. >> berkeley is a better situation. we don't feel like we're walking into a trap. it's wide open. it's an open field. it's a better situation. >> organizers say the berkeley event is still on. this just got a lot more complicated in berkeley. >> reporter: it has. we just did a skype interview with the organizer of the event on sunday. he did not know the crissy field event was cancelled until we told hi

. >> san francisco and park police on patrol in alamo square park tonight afar right activists joey gibson announce on social media he is no longer planning to attend his permitted rally at christy field because of safety concerns. >> tomorrow really seems like a set up. it doesn't seem safe. a lot of people's lives are going to be in danger tomorrow. >> gibson has unpermitted event at alamo square park. the last-minute change has -- >> it's quite frankly with it being right here. >> same thing is going to happen here, that was going to happen there. it's just a different location. i hope everybody ends up being safe. >> well, neighbors worried the mayor of san francisco says he is skeptical of gibson's plan and intention. >> right now, we're don't know and we're don't trust what we're see in social media. >> they're going to cancel their rally tomorrow. >> at a community meeting in the marina to talk about safety concerns related to the protest and counter protest at the field, police chief william scott told residents he's planning for a fluid situation. >> there's no permit for this eve