Social media rumor of militant gathering in Weatherford draws more than 200 counterprotesters – By Catherine Marfin (Dallas Morning News) / Aug 8 2020
But rumored demonstration by Black Lives Matter and Antifa didn’t materialize, authorities say.
A social media rumor that militant and other groups were going to protest in Weatherford prompted more than 200 counterprotesters, many of them armed, to show up at the county courthouse Saturday, the Weatherford Democrat reported.
Sgt. Matthew Chalmers, a Weatherford police spokesman, said counterprotesters began gathering near the courthouse around 8 a.m., but the groups that were rumored to be planning a demonstration never showed.
“The information that was floating around social media was that there was going to be several hundred people coming from [Black Lives Matter] and Antifa … to protest the statue on the courthouse square,” Chalmers said. “As a result, we had several counterprotest group get on social media as well to gather and come to Weatherford.”
The Weatherford Democrat reported that many of the counterprotesters carried shotguns, rifles and semi-automatic weapons.
Continue to article: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2020/08/08/social-media-rumor-of-militant-gathering-in-weatherford-draws-more-than-200-counter-protesters/
