Ritzheimer is touting the event as the “Freedom of Speech Rally Round II,” and is calling for demonstrators to bring American flags and utilize their “Second Amendment rights at this event just in case our First Amendment comes under the much anticipated attack.”
The First Amendment provides protection from government prosecution based on expression — and also covers the free exercise of religion.
"This event is yet another reminder of the degree to which ‘free speech’ demonstrations are often veneers for deep-seated animus. The point that the Phoenix bikers are making with this event is less about free speech than it is about expressing their hatred of Islam directly to Muslims,” Georgetown University's The Bridge Initiative, a project that studies Islamophobia, posted in a statement on their website.
“This is evidenced by the obscene comments on the group’s page, the vulgar t-shirts that the group will sell (and wear) ahead of their gathering, and the fact that the organizers have chosen to intentionally antagonize Muslims at their mosque by arriving en masse, insulting their religion to their faces, intimidating them with their weapons, and expecting that they quietly embrace all of this in the name of the First Amendment.’
As of Thursday evening, over 300 people had RSVP’ed online to attend the event.
Ritzheimer is promoting the demonstration as round two of Pamela Geller’s "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest" in Garland, Texas, as the assailants who shot a cop at the event were from Phoenix and one of the men had ties to the Islamic Center.
The mosque where the event will be staged issued a statement denouncing ISIL in October.
“The Islamic Community Center of Phoenix joined global, national and local Muslim scholars and leaders in refuting the ideology of the terrorist group ISIS, we are urging ISIS supporters to repent and return to the religion of mercy,” the ICCP wrote in their statement.
The FBI is currently investigating threatening letters that were sent to the mosque and the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has met with law enforcement to ensure proactive efforts to protect worshipers.
