Michigan braces for violence as Proud Boys plan to descend upon major city

Authorities in Michigan are worried about violence as the far-right group the Proud Boys prepares to rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday.

The Proud Boys have been designated an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Canada has named the organization a "terrorist entity."

The fears of violence in Grand Rapids follow a violent rally held last summer in Kalamazoo and the violence that seems to occur when the group holds public events.

Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack, who represents Grand Rapids, explained his fears to Fox 17.

"My first thought is that it's not good, but they do have freedom of speech. So, I'm sure they'll be putting their hate messages across the United States whenever they have the opportunity," Womack said. "Violence just continues to follow the Proud Boys from city to city and now the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County as a whole we have to deal with it."

There are also worries after how Kalamazoo handled last summer's violence.

"During a Proud Boys rally, clashes broke out between the group's members and protesters. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said the counter-protestors incited the violence, but First Congregational Church Pastor Nathan Dannison said he saw the Proud Boys initiate the conflict by assaulting a homeless man," News Channel 3 reported in June.

At the time, Karianne Thomas was the chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

"Kalamazoo police arrested 10 people that day, including an MLive newspaper reporter. But none of those arrested were members of the Proud Boys. Charges were eventually dropped against nine of the 10 arrested and Thomas issued a public apology to the reporter," News Channel 3 reported.

Thomas was fired from her job in Kalamazoo, but subsequently hired by Grand Rapids.

The president of Justice for Black Lives blasted the hiring decision, which resulted in protests.

"For a very long time, activists in Kalamazoo fought hard to get Karianne Thomas fired from her position," the president said. "So to hire her in another police department about an hour away is still a slap in the face all the way to Kalamazoo."

The Proud Boys rally is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Ah-Nab-Awen Park. There is a counter-protest scheduled to begin two hours earlier.