San Francisco Patriot Prayer rally canceled, group says

A conservative rally set to happen Saturday at San Francisco's Crissy Field has been canceled, the organizers announced Friday afternoon on Facebook.

Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson said the city had not given proper security measures, and he said he feared for the safety of those attending the rally.

"Tomorrow really seems like a set-up," Gibson said in the Facebook video. "It doesn't seem safe, a lot of people's lives are going to be in danger tomorrow."

Gibson blamed the media and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi for calling them white supremacists, which he said was encouraging the antifa and other groups to come out. 

The Portland, Oregon-based Patriot Prayer had received a permit for the rally, but San Francisco residents had been trying to stop the rally from happening after the violence earlier this month during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one woman dead. 

Gibson has insisted the group does not harbor racist views and that hate groups were not welcome Saturday.

Earlier Friday, a judge ordered the jailing of a conservative organizer who was scheduled to speak Saturday.

An Alameda County judge on Friday set bail for 41-year-old Kyle Chapman at $135,000.

Chapman was also told to stay 300 yards away from Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley on Sunday, when a "No to Marxism" rally is scheduled. 

Chapman, of Daly City, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon after authorities said he was seen on video hitting a counter-protester over the head with a billy club during a chaotic March 4 demonstration in the Berkeley park. 

Chapman describes himself in social media as a proud American nationalist and ardent Trump supporter. 

He said in a Facebook posting on Thursday that he planned to attend both rallies regardless of the outcome of his Friday arraignment.

About 200 people danced to "Oh, Happy Day" at a demonstration against hate organized by San Francisco city officials.

Some people in the crowd outside City Hall on Friday held red, white and blue signs that read "Unite Against Hate."

Micki Esken says she is unsure whether to attend Saturday's protest against a "freedom rally" being held at Crissy Field. She says she might go to spread her message of love and hope.

She believes people can't just love their friends and people like them.

Dog walkers planned to protest the rally by leaving pup poop outside Crissy Field. A Facebook page encourages protesters to let their dogs loose Friday and Saturday morning at the park near the Golden Gate Bridge and not pick up after them. 

The page assures dog owners that they can come together Sunday to clean up the field of feces and "hug each other."