WASHINGTON -- This weekend's white supremacist rally on the National Mall has been granted demonstration permits, but the conditions under which the demonstration takes place has not been issued yet.
"Unite The Right 2" organizer Jason Kessler filed paperwork with the National Park Service on May 8. On Wednesday, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said Kessler's application has not yet been approved.
Three months of planning is detailed in the four-page, handwritten application as well as email correspondence released by the National Park Service and obtained by WUSA9.
Kessler said he anticipated 400 people in Lafyette Park for "protesting civil rights abuse in Charlottesville Va / white civil rights rally."
A WUSA9 review of federal regulations found that demonstration requests are denied on a four-point criteria. Government correspondence with Kessler made public through a Freedom of Information Act request included at least two requests to deny Kessler's permit application based on "a clear and present danger to the public safety, good order or health."
National Capital Region park rangers process requests for about 750 demonstrations each year, defining a demonstration as "speechmaking, vigils, picketing, marching, or religious services."
On average, the Park Service said they issue 750 permits for demonstrations each year and 1,500 permits for special events.
Park Service guidelines say a demonstration application is processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
