Virginia urges justices to uphold weapons ban at Monday gun rally

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia urged the state Supreme Court on Friday to uphold a weapons ban at an upcoming gun rally in the capital, insisting it was necessary to prevent a repeat of deadly violence that erupted at a white nationalist rally more than two years ago.

State Attorney General Mark Herring's petition -- and simultaneous legal efforts by gun-rights groups to lift the ban -- came amid the arrest of six men whom authorities linked to a white supremacist group known as The Base.

At least three of them were planning to attend the pro-gun rally on Monday in Richmond, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation.

In his legal brief to the Supreme Court, Herring called Northam's executive order banning guns from the Capitol grounds "a carefully limited Executive Order" that "does not prevent anyone from speaking, assembling, or petitioning the government."

"Instead, it temporarily precludes private possession of firearms in a sensitive public place during a specified time to protect public safety," the brief says.

Herring argued Gov. Ralph Northam's order would help prevent the kind of violence that erupted at a 2017 white nationalist rally in the city of Charlottesville. One woman was killed and more than 30 others were hurt when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd. No one was wounded by gunfire at the rally.

A circuit court judge on Thursday upheld Northam's ban after gun-rights groups filed a lawsuit against it, arguing that it would violate their Second Amendment right to bear arms and their First Amendment freedom of speech.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League -- the group sponsoring the rally -- called the judge's ruling "mind-boggling." The Defense League and the organization Gun Owners of America immediately filed an appeal of the ruling to the Supreme Court. It was not clear when the high court would rule.

In imposing the ban Wednesday, Northam said law enforcement officials has found credible threats that the rally could include "armed militia groups storming our Capitol."

Virginia's solicitor general, Toby Heytens, told Richmond Circuit Court Judge Joi Taylor on Thursday that law enforcement had identified "credible evidence" armed out-of-state groups planned to come to Virginia with the possible intention of participating in a "violent insurrection."

The FBI has said all six men arrested -- in Delaware, Georgia and Maryland -- were linked to The Base, a collective of hardcore neo-Nazis that operates as a paramilitary organization. The Base has proclaimed war against minority communities within the United States and abroad, the FBI has said. Unlike other extremist groups, it's not focused on promulgating propaganda; instead the group aims to bring together highly skilled members to train them for acts of violence.

One of the arrested men had discussed traveling to Ukraine to fight alongside "nationalists" and compared the white supremacist group to al-Qaida, a prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a nonprofit advocacy group looking to curb gun violence, told reporters on a conference call Friday that online threats against the group's employees and volunteers have also increased, comparable to what they've seen previously in the run-up to large pro-gun rallies.

She noted that many of the expected rally participants are not Virginia residents, while those who harbor the most extreme views represent "just a very vocal minority."

"Their views are not representative of the majority of Virginians," she said.

Friday's developments unfolded on Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday honoring Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Legislation proposed this year and supported by Northam would scrap the holiday.

As state officials and gun-rights groups battle over the ban in court, a package of gun-control bills is moving through the legislature, which is now in Democratic control.

The Senate on Thursday passed legislation limiting handgun purchases to once a month, requiring universal background checks on gun purchases, and allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas. The bill was passed along partisan lines. It will now go to the House for consideration.