Back the Badge Rally Canceled due to counter protesters, founder says.
A Back the Badge Rally was scheduled for this Saturday in front of the Atwater Police Department. However, the event is now canceled, according to the founder of the event.
“I have a large group of people who dig into possible threats before every rally. Once they have concrete proof, we make the decision, according to the founder of BTB.
The founder did tell the Atwater Police Chief of those threats.
The founder of BTB told Merced Daily, he is not associated with any other group. The founder and his family are now receiving threats.
Other groups, not associated with BTB, claimed they would still be going Saturday.
Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador says the ‘Back the Badge Rally’ is a private event, not associated with the Atwater Police Department. If the event would’ve continued, it would require additional resources. “I would have to make sure everyone is safe, Bellevue is a busy road,” Salvador said. “I did talk to the founder and told him just that.”
Salvador told Merced Daily, he did not receive any independent credible threats towards the event. “Social media is social media,” Salvador said.
The event page showed 190 people were going and 701 people were interested in coming to the event before it was canceled.
