SIMI VALLEY : Supremacist Group to Get Parade Permit

Simi Valley Police Chief Lindsey P. Miller said Friday he has agreed to issue a permit allowing the white supremacist Nationalist Movement to stage a parade and rally Sept. 12 in Simi Valley.

Miller said he has attached several conditions to the permit, including one that would allow him to stop the parade if he believes there are not enough police officers present to guarantee the safety of Nationalist Movement leader Richard Barrett and his supporters.

“If sufficient police protection is not available, he will receive a protected stationary location near the East County Courthouse for a rally and meeting with the press,” Miller said.

The police chief approved the permit under the provisions of a new public assembly law approved Monday by the City Council.

City officials are concerned about the marchers’ safety because violence erupted among 300 counterdemonstrators at the Nationalist Movement’s previous rally on June 6 outside Simi Valley City Hall.

The organization, led by Mississippi attorney Barrett, has sought to parade in support of the four Los Angeles police officers who were found not guilty of all but one charge in the Rodney G. King beating trial, held in Simi Valley.

Miller said the city and the county spent about $60,000 to protect Barrett and his supporters at the June 6 rally. He predicted that more officers will be needed Sept. 12 because a larger counterdemonstration is being planned.

In a telephone interview Friday, Barrett said he would accept the provisions attached to the city’s permit “under protest.”

“There are a number of things in the city’s parade ordinance that are unconstitutional,” he said. “But if the city does not attempt to apply them, then we have no gripe.”

Barrett also urged city officials again to request National Guard troops to help protect the marchers. But Miller said he believes a combined force of officers from Ventura County and its cities will be sufficient.