Organizers of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace Walk and Rally say the 21st annual event will go on as planned Monday, Jan. 19. They say safety is their No. 1 priority.
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“We have to always be mindful of the possibilities of danger,” said Stuart Anderson, logistics coordinator and co-chair of the event.
Although the Metropolitan Police Department has not determined that there are any credible threats in the District, they are continuing to monitor intelligence channels.
Last week, Fayetteville, North Carolina, announced in a letter to the community that it would postpone its parade this year, which was scheduled for Jan. 17 because of what officials called “safety issues.” They were not specific about what the safety issues were. They did say the parade would be rescheduled.
Some have expressed concerns about President Donald Trump’s administration’s increased deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to major cities as potentially disruptive to the parade.
A confrontation between an ICE agent and a woman in Minneapolis during a protest on Jan. 7 led to 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good being shot and killed by the agent, who said he was hit by her car as she attempted to drive away. That incident prompted days of protracted in honor of Good, who died at the scene.
The agent who shot her was identified by authorities as Jonathan Ross.
“We want to make sure that we’re doing everything possible that we can do to ensure safety,” Anderson said, adding that the organizing committee has been in frequent contact with MPD to ensure coverage for the walk and all the events scheduled for Monday.
The day will start with a peace rally at Firth Sterling Avenue and Sumner Road SE. From there, the peace walk will commence east to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, where it will travel north to Marion Barry Avenue where vendor booths will be stationed, featuring health and wellness activities and more.
To get tickets and learn more about the events surrounding the parade, visit their website.
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