SIMI VALLEY : Police to Rule on Klan Rally Permit
Simi Valley Police Chief Lindsey P. Miller said Tuesday that he will decide today whether to issue a public assembly permit to a man who wants to hold a Ku Klux Klan rally at the East County Courthouse on Feb. 20.
Miller said he was still studying the permit application filed by the rally’s organizer, avowed Klansman John Varela of Bakersfield, and would only say that he would probably continue to argue that his department does not have the manpower to protect the Klan supporters from counterdemonstrators.
Varela said he wants to show support for the four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney G. King.
About a month ago Simi Valley city officials wrote to President Bush, the U. S. Department of Justice and Gov. Pete Wilson in an effort to obtain state and federal law enforcement officers to help protect Klan supporters at the proposed rally next month. The city has not heard back from any of the agencies, officials said.
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