Rally organizer:
It was a “crazy day” for Joey Gibson, one that ended with the Patriot Prayer leader appearing where he said he wouldn’t — at Crissy Field.
Tensions were high Saturday at Alamo Square Park, which city officials closed off to prevent right-wing activists from holding what they said would be a “press conference” rather than a rally.
Keeping the park open would have been a threat to public safety, said police Cmdr. Ann Mannix, adding that it was an effort to keep the peace.
But while no right-wing activists were to be seen, when several hundred counterprotesters still showed up, police were forced to take action.
City park rangers and even police cadets joined hundreds of San Francisco officers, who were equipped with zip ties, helmets and recently issued body cameras. After crews erected a chain-link fence barrier around the park early in the morning, the police drove around the park at about 11 a.m., telling people on a car loudspeaker that the park was closed.
As more and more counterprotesters swarmed to the area, the police set up additional barriers along nearby residential streets, creating a one-block buffer zone on every side of Alamo Square Park.
No one who’d been inside the now-screened-off zone was told to leave, but latecomers were barred from the area.
The purpose of keeping pedestrians out of streets surrounding the park was “control and containment” so that residents in the area would be safe, said Officer Giselle Linnane, a police spokeswoman.
“We had a fairly large crowd here, but for the most part they were all contained, they all said what they had to say, made their speeches and moved on from the area,” she said.
At one point in the late morning, a group at a barrier at Fell and Steiner streets broke through. Several dozen police officers ran up the street to create a new barrier, this time using their bodies. Protesters chanted, “Let us in!” and “Our streets!”
Also in the late morning, a woman was detained after a skirmish just outside the park fence. Police piled into the disruption and pulled away the screaming woman and took her to the police staging area inside the fenced-off park.
One person was taken into custody, Linnane said later, though she didn’t know if a citation was issued or an arrest made.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the hundreds of counterprotesters took off in what they billed as a “march to the Mission” and headed for Mission and 24th streets.
Linnane said the department had contingency plans for a variety of scenarios and anticipated “pop-ups” throughout the city.
Cmdr. Daniel Perea, former captain of Mission Station, said his past work with activists from the district was invaluable to coordinating safety Saturday.
“This was an unplanned, spontaneous exercise of First Amendment rights, and we facilitated it,” Perea said. “We knew a couple of the organizers, and we spoke with them and worked together to make sure they had their space.
“Our primary concern right now is for all these people walking in the roadway,” he added as the crowd started its march. “Lots of people driving in San Francisco aren’t aware this is going on, so we’ve got to keep these folks safe.”
In addition to San Francisco and city park police, deputies from the Sheriff ’s Department also were deployed, Perea said.