A leader of one of the major protest groups planning to disrupt the GOP convention said Monday she will not instruct her members to refrain from violent attacks against New York City police, delegates or city residents during a planned 250,000-person march the night before the convention.
Referring to planned protests as "a battle," Tanya Mayo, national coordinator for the protest group "Not in Our Name," told radio host Sean Hannity that her group alone has 30,000 members, but that other groups could swell that number by hundreds of thousands during a planned march up 7th Ave. to the area around Madison Square Garden.
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Contending that there's "a real hatred" for President Bush's agenda, Mayo said protesters have a right to assemble in Central Park after leaving the Garden area, a plan that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has banned.
Asked if her group would "follow the rule of law" if Bloomberg's ban stays in force, Mayo told Hannity, "I think it's ironic that you would ask that question when we've got a president that actually has sacked the rule of law."
"Look, we've got a gang in the White House right now that are rounding up immigrants, putting people in detention," she insisted. "Trust me, [Bush] is a bad guy."
The rest of the exchange went like this:
HANNITY: Will you be nonviolent with the police?
MAYO: I'm gonna answer that in the best way that I can. I can't answer it as a yes or no answer. What I can say, is ...
HANNITY: Wait a minute, wait a minute. You can. Will you encourage people in your protest not to be violent with the police - yes or no?
MAYO: People are concerned with the fate of the people of the world ...
HANNITY: Yes or no? Answer the question, Tanya.
MAYO: If you want to do this interview and you want to hear what I have to say, then allow me to answer the question. ... If people are concerned about safety and disruption in the streets, then we need to actually look at who will be held responsible for something like that. And that's Mayor Bloomberg and his administration for refusing the right of people to assemble.
HANNITY: Now I'll ask the question again. Will you encourage your members to be nonviolent?
MAYO: I think our members are a very diverse group of people and individuals will have to make a decision what lines they choose to cross at any given point.
HANNITY: But as a paid leader of the group "Not In Our Name," as a leader of the peace movement, will you encourage members in your group not to be violent?
MAYO: Like I said, those things will unfold as the days come and we'll definitely give you a call back if we have any other answers. ... We have respected everything up to this point. The only people who have sacked the rule of law are the gang in the White House.
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