Right-wing vlogger Joey Gibson tends to his MAGA-behatted flock in Portland on August 6
Right-wing vlogger Joey Gibson tends to his MAGA-behatted flock in Portland on August 6 Doug Brown

Fisticuffs in Portland and Seattle are one thing, but an impending showdown in San Francisco proved too dicey for Vancouver-based right-wing blogger Joey GIbson.

Gibson announced this afternoon his Patriot Prayer organization is canceling a planned "Freedom Rally" at San Francisco's Crissy Field—partly because of fears that "tons of extremists" would disrupt the event.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

“We’re not going to have a rally at Crissy Field,” Gibson said in a Facebook Live broadcast. “It doesn’t seem safe. A lot of people’s lives are going to be in danger tomorrow.”

He blamed politicians like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee for characterizing the rally as a white nationalist event, which he said would attract people with extreme views.

“After several conversations with the police and understanding the situation of what’s going on, we’ve decided that tomorrow really seems like a setup,” Gibson said. “We decided to go ahead and take the opportunity to not fall into that trap.”

Gibson hasn't often been dissuaded from holding events. Ahead of a "free speech rally" he organized in June ,
Mayor Ted Wheeler called on the federal government to pull Gibson's lawful permit for the event due to concerns of violence. Wheelers concerns were partly based on the tense atmosphere in the wake of the May 26 MAX slayings, carried out by a white supremacist who'd attended another one of Gibson's events. The event went on anyway.

Gibson has since organized tense rallies in Seattle, and on Portland's waterfront.

But tomorrow proved different. According to reporters in the Bay Area, the decision to cancel is largely based on the fact that Gibson's followers wouldn't be allowed to wear helmets, and that the militia group the Oath Keepers would not be acting as security, as they have at events locally.


Here's Gibson announcing tomorrow's rally is canceled.