SIMI VALLEY : Klansman Seeks National Guard Protection for Rally

An avowed Ku Klux Klan member who plans to hold a rally in Simi Valley next month has requested the protection of the National Guard, state officials said Friday.

John Varela of Bakersfield requested the protection in a two-page letter to the state attorney general, said Denise Davis, a spokeswoman in the attorney general’s office.

Varela wants the National Guard to protect him from counterdemonstrators at the rally that he wants to hold Feb. 20 to show support for the four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney G. King.

Last April, the officers were acquitted of all but one charge at a trial held in Simi Valley.

The officers still face federal charges.

Simi Valley City Manager M. L. Koester has said that only a “modest number” of Simi Valley police officers will be available to protect Varela and has asked Varela to arrange for his own security detail.

Davis said the attorney general’s office has replied with a letter informing Varela that the agency does not control the National Guard.

The letter suggests that Varela contact the governor’s office.

Last year, the governor’s office of emergency services denied a similar request from white supremacist Richard Barrett because state officials believed local police agencies could handle the matter.