Berkeley Police Department has issued a list of items that will be prohibited at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park on Aug. 27, in light of a planned alt-right “No to Marxism in America” rally.
In a Nixle alert released Friday, BPD detailed a list of 30 objects that will be banned at the park. According to the alert, because no permits have been issued for the park, anyone at the park will be subject to these rules.
The list is as follows:
- Metal pipes
- Baseball or softball bats
- Lengths of lumber or wood
- Wooden dowels
- Poles
- Bricks
- Rocks
- Glass bottles
- Metal beverage or food cans or containers
- Pepper or bear spray
- Mace
- Knives or daggers
- Firearms
- Shields
- Axes, axe handles or hatchets
- Ice picks
- Razor blades
- Tasers
- Eggs
- Improvised explosive devices
- Spray cans
- Fireworks
- Dynamite
- U-lock bike locks
- Heavy-gauge chain
- Dogs (except for service dogs)
- Skateboards
- Balloons
- Torches, lanterns or other devices that use fire or fuel
- Any other item generally considered an “implement of riot” that can be used as a weapon
BPD is also prohibiting any flags or signs that are “affixed to any pole or stick,” and it is requiring that no one at the park wear a mask, scarf or other accessory that covers or partially covers the face. Exceptions will be made with coverings worn because of religious beliefs or practices.
The city is also imposing certain regulations, including the restriction of certain items, in other parts of the city. This area is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Way to the west, Oxford Street to the east, Bancroft Way and Channing Way to the south and University Avenue to the north. The authority of the city to impose such regulations on these streets was granted at a Berkeley City Council meeting Aug. 18, in which the council adopted an urgency ordinance allowing the city manager to issue temporary regulations at unpermitted street events.
“The City will work to safeguard our community while facilitating the peaceful expression of the First Amendment,” the alert stated. “If anyone commits a crime in our community, we will work with the community to identify, investigate and prosecute suspects.”
