With just four days until the White Lives Matter protests in both Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, counter protesters say they're ready to take white supremacy head on.
Several groups organized events on Facebook to protest the white nationalist rally. Included in that list were TN Anti Racist Network and the Murfreesboro Loves movement. Between the groups, some are expecting counter protesters to show up in the thousands to protests on the 28th.
"Nazis are not welcome here," said Kirk Braaten, an organizer with TN Anti Racist Network. "White supremacists are not welcome here. Your message is not welcome here. Your attempts to promote your ideology are not welcome here."
Despite staunch opposition, the groups have said they hope for a peaceful approach to the rallies. Murfreesboro Loves planned events including a march and family friendly event after the rallies end Saturday afternoon.
"We want that to be about our community, rather than about some folks coming into our community and doing something," said Jason Bennett, a key members of Murfreesboro Loves. "That's what we're going to keep our message on is affirming who we are and who we want to be rather than anything negative towards that group of people."
Despite the message of peace, some are afraid of what could happen following the events of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville Virginia. That rally turned violent and resulted in the death of one counter protester.
"We're greatly for the possibility of immigrants or people of color in Shelbyville showing up for the direct counter protest and then being targeted afterwards," said Braaten.
The protests are planned for 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Shelbyville on Saturday and noon to 4:00 p.m. in Murfreesboro following. Some counter protesters plan to go to both events.
