District attorney and rally organizer warn against misconduct
PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — The 'No Kings' protest in Parker is set to go on, even after the town discouraged the event due to resources already being used for the Parker Days Festival taking place on Saturday, too. Now, law enforcement is warning protestors to keep things peaceful if they want to stay out of trouble.
Organizers of the No Kings protest in Parker are expecting the best on Saturday, but prosecutors in the area want them to know they are prepared for the worst.
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'Seeing how some of these protests have turned into arrests in Denver, Seattle, Portland. The fact that we've already got law enforcement and public services spread extremely thin for a town of 50,000 that will over this weekend see 350,000 people come through, the risk there is for something bad to happen,' said District Attorney George Brauchler of the 23rd Judicial District.
The district attorney said he welcomes peaceful protestors looking to take part in the No Kings protest in Parker on Saturday. He is warning people who may be coming from outside the community, they will be prosecuted if they break the law.
'Parker is going to do its best to make sure that they are protected and that they are safe with their thin resources. But I can promise you in the discussions that I've had, if those things turn into lawlessness, yes, law enforcement will then have to leave Parker Days, leaving that crowd to be less safe in order to come down and take care of the criminality,' said Brauchler. 'I'm serious about this part: if you put yourself in a position to come down here and do something other than peacefully protest, least don't show up in court and expect some sense of dismissal, or 'hey we understand that you're super emotional about this.' I will not. You do your best to be peaceful as a protester, and we'll have no issues at all. You step over that line, try to shut down a road, fight with the cops, fight with each other, it doesn't matter. We have plenty of room in the jail.'
Many protestors may not be coming from other areas. Dozens of these protests are taking place across the state. Organizers said they are expecting a good-sized crowd, but they are not anticipating chaos. The area organizer is relieved that leaders are committed to getting bad actors.
'We have heard the same rumor. And I'm really relieved that he is aware of it because I think maybe we might be afforded some kind of police protection for our rally. What I heard was that outside, maybe like Proud Boys and groups like that, may infiltrate our rallies and perpetrate violence on the police to try to make it look like we are a violent demonstration,' said No Kings Parker Organizer Carolyn Williamson. 'I've put the fear of God into these people: we're going to dot every 'I' and cross every 'T'. We do not want to make an enemy of Parker because we want to do more peaceful rallies. It's our constitutional right, and that's what's going to happen tomorrow: a peaceful, lawful rally.'
Organizers said they also have safety plans in place if bad actors do show up. They will go over the details with attendees before they get started Saturday morning.
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