Photo by Elvert Barnes.

In anticipation of Sunday’s “Unite the Right 2” rally, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an order to activate D.C.’s Emergency Operations Center on Thursday morning as part of a safety plan for the District.

This follows Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declaring a state of emergency in Virginia in anticipation of the events this weekend, scheduled a year after fatal protests in Charlottesville during the gathering of white supremacists.

Activating the Emergency Operations Center to “level two” is how local, state, and federal agencies can coordinate their resources in case of “critical incident responses,” per the mayor’s office.

Representatives of many of those agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, the National Park Service, and Metro Transit Police, were on hand to explain their preparations for the people who will arrive in the region “with the sole purpose of spewing hate,” as Bowser described it.

D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said that his two major takeaways from criticism of the police response in Charlottesville last summer were that law enforcement did not effectively coordinate resources between local and state departments and they failed to keep the rallygoers and counterprotesters separate. He says his planning has focused on not repeating those mistakes.

“When these two groups have been in the same area at the same time, it leads to violent confrontations,” said Newsham. “Our goal is to prevent that from happening.”

Complicating that goal is the fact that the National Park Service, as of Thursday, had officially granted a permit to Jason Kessler, the organizer for “Unite The Right 2” in Lafayette Park, as well as at least one counterprotest from the ANSWER Coalition for the same place. There are several other counterprotests slated for Sunday, as well as in the days before.

The rallygoers are expected to meet in Vienna, arrive in the city from Foggy Bottom, and march to Lafayette Square, but Newsham noted that there is a “strong likelihood” that the route will change.

Newsham warned counterprotesters that, while Unite The Right protesters’ “views strike at the core of a person’s values … [do] not let your personal passions overcome your civility.” He declined to name specific tactics about how police plan to keep rallygoers and protesters separated.

The police chief did reference recent controversy about a potential plan to offer private Metro cars or police escorts for attendees of the gathering, saying that the sole purpose of any actions will be to prevent bodily harm or property damage.

“Some may try to misinterpret what law enforcement is doing, but the ultimate goal will be to make sure that nobody is injured and nothing gets broken,” he said.

While permitted concealed carry is legal in D.C., firearms will not be allowed at or near the protests even for those with licenses. There will not be checkpoints, but Newsham said his officers “will be on high alert for anyone who will be carrying a firearm.”

Newsham said that he expected anywhere from 100-400 “Unite the Right” attendees, in addition to counterprotesters. By using predictive analysis, he determined that “it appears we will have manageable numbers.”

Many of the attendees at last year’s rally in Charlottesville came from elsewhere in the country, says Arthur Jipson, an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Dayton, who has studied white supremacist movements and online culture. Jipson saw rallygoers communicating online about how to get there. “I’m not seeing as much chatter or conversation or logistical or strategic planning as the first one,” he says.

But he cautions that doesn’t necessarily mean that fewer people will show up. “They’ve become more strategic, and learned adaptive skill sets for getting people to rallies,” he says.

That said, some prominent voices in the far-right extremist community have disavowed Sunday’s rally, including the Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi website. The rally appears to be moving forward nonetheless.

On Sunday, D.C. police will enforce these road closures from 9 a.m. through 8 p.m.:
• 15th Street, NW, from Constitution Avenue to K Street, NW
• 17th Street, NW, from Constitution Avenue to K Street, NW
• 18th Street, NW, from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 19th Street, NW, from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 20th Street, NW, from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 21st Street, NW, from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 22nd Street, NW, from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• 23rd Street, NW, from Virginia Avenue to Washington Circle, NW
• H Street, NW from 17th Street to 15th Street, NW
• I Street, NW from 17th Street to 15th Street, NW
• K Street, NW from 17th Street to 15th Street, NW
• Connecticut Avenue, NW, from H Street to I Street, NW
• Vermont Avenue, NW, from H Street to I Street, NW
• G Street, NW, from 17th Street to 23rd Street, NW
• F Street, NW, from 17th Street to 23rd Street, NW
• E Street, NW from 17th Street to 23rd Street, NW

Updated with comment from Arthur Jipson.