Watch CBS News

Hundreds march against right-wing press conference in San Francisco

San Francisco rally
Hundreds march against right-wing group in San Francisco 02:03

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hundreds of people are marching around San Francisco's Alamo Square park holding signs condemning white supremacists and chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" 

Police in riot gear lined up Saturday along a fence erected at the park after the right-wing group Patriot Prayer said it planned to hold a news conference at the location. 

At least one person was detained outside Alamo Square as demonstrators gathered to disrupt a press conference by the alt-right group Patriot Prayer, CBS San Francisco reports. However, Patriot Prayer leaders called off the news conference hours earlier and said it would be held at an unspecified indoor location. 

APTOPIX Free Speech Rallies
San Francisco Police Officers arrest a protester outside of Alamo Square Park in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017.  Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Around 1:30 p.m., a group of demonstrators blocked the Central Freeway off-ramp into San Francisco's Western Addition, backing up traffic on Highway 101.  

Patriot Prayer leaders originally obtained a permit from the National Park Service to stage a rally Saturday at Crissy Field in the shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge.

But late Friday cancelled their plans for Crissy Field and said they would instead by a Alamo Square Park. The city closed the park, ringed it with police and S.F. Muni re-routed its bus lines.

Mayor Ed Lee has denounced the group as inviting hate. Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson has denied that his group is racist. 

"We don't trust this group. I never have from the beginning," Lee said of Patriot Prayer.  

There have been dozens of free speech rallies across the country 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.