OMINOUS

Stone Mountain Park Shuts Down Ahead of Threatened Showdown Between White Supremacist and Anti-Fascist Groups

The controversial Georgia monument said it would close on Saturday as rival groups of protesters and militia threatened to face off.

Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park, home to a rock carving of Confederate leaders, will shut down on Saturday in an attempt to thwart a threatened showdown between anti-government militia, white supremacists and anti-fascist protesters. The Three Percenters militia, a far-right paramilitary group, asked to hold a 2,000-person rally in the park on Saturday “to defend and protect our history and second Amendment rights” but were denied by state officials, who cited violence at a similar event in 2016. But some online groups have threatened to turn up anyway, including a group of Confederate-loving protesters calling themselves “Defending Stone Mountain” and a rival group called Atlanta Antifascists, who have vowed to counter protest. Park officials said they would close the controversial monument for security reasons. City authorities also announced they would be suspending bus service and urged residents to avoid going into the city center entirely.