Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign have secured permits to hold rallies near the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The Sanders backers, who are not officially associated with the campaign, got a four-day permit for rallies at FDR Park, which is located next to the convention venue, the Wells Fargo Center. The city anticipates 30,000 people will attend the gathering, and the organizers told the Wall Street Journal that they’re hoping for more.
“The whole Bernie movement is an ideology. If Bernie wins the nomination, wins the presidency, that would be amazing. But even if Hillary does win the nomination, the movement has already started,” Steve Okan Layne, one of the rally organizers, told the Wall Street Journal.
Backers of Sanders have also obtained permits for three separate rallies at Thomas Paine Plaza, which is located farther from the Wells Fargo Center, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Particularly after a chaotic state Democratic convention in Nevada last weekend — where scuffles broke out as Sanders supporters shouted derogatory terms at the state party chair — some Democrats are concerned that if Sanders loses the nomination, his supporters will cause a ruckus at the national convention in protest.
Bill Taylor, another organizer for the Philadelphia rallies, told the Wall Street Journal that he won’t tolerate violence from Sanders’ backers.
“We are marching. If you’re planning on coming here with violence in mind, we don’t want you,” he said.
