Anti-white supremacy rally planned for Dallas this weekend

DALLAS - Organizers of what's being called an anti-white supremacy rally are planning for a big crowd in downtown Dallas this weekend.

Counter-protesters plan to be at the event outside Dallas City Hall on Saturday as well.

Anti-white supremacy protest organizers already have been looking for people with a military or security background to volunteers as what it calls "peacekeepers." 

The group In Solidarity will rally against Confederate monuments and white supremacy at the Saturday event that could bring thousands of people to downtown.

“We are expecting some counter protesters Saturday, but I personally have the utmost faith in DPD and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office to make sure we are safe,” said In Solidarity member Eric Ramsey.

Dallas Police Chief David Pughes says the department is aware of the event and police will have officers there.

“I have no worries at all this weekend that we'll have any issues,” Pughes said. “We'll have security and we're going to make sure that nothing bad happens.”

Doing anything with the monument would likely require council approval. Five council members signed a memo last week asking that Mayor Mike Rawlings put the topic on the agenda for the next council meeting.

Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway isn't so sure it's a good use of council's time.

“We have such amount of other concerns that we ought to be spending our time with -- trying to figure out what we're going to do with the homeless, trying to figure out how we're going to increase housing,” Caraway said.

But Ramsey said the monuments are very personal for people.

“I know for a lot of people, especially in the black community it represents the slavery of their people, the murder of their people,” Ramsey said.

Mayor Rawlings will speak about the violence in Virginia involving white supremacists at Tuesday news conference along with other related topics.