Organizers expect 20,000 Denverites to show up when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bring their fight against President Donald Trump and billionaires in government to Civic Center Park on Friday afternoon.
Though the event is unpermitted, Denver officials are bracing for the big crowds.
Organizers did not need to pull a permit with the city because the event is defined as an “assembly” and protected under the First Amendment, Office of Special Events spokesperson Silvia Martinez-Palacios told Denverite in an email.
“Given the anticipated high attendance, OSE has stepped in to help coordinate city agency efforts to ensure public safety and logistical preparedness,” Martinez-Palacios wrote. “We are facilitating collaboration among the Denver Police Department, Denver Fire Department, Denver Parks and Recreation, and other city partners to align on safety and necessary support services.”
The rally could cause some snags in downtown traffic.
Set-up begins at 7 a.m., doors open at 4 p.m. and speakers start at 5 p.m. The event will be wrapped by 6:30 p.m., and the breakdown will be finished by 8:30 p.m.
Organizers ask attendees not to bring bags, signs and firearms.
Because parking is limited to garages, they also encourage people to take rideshares and carpool.
What’s the rally about?
At the rally, one of many nationwide, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will blast Trump, Elon Musk and the “billionaire oligarchs” they say are taking over Washington, D.C.
“We will be in Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado to hold town meetings with working people who are profoundly disgusted with what is going on in Washington, D.C.,” Sanders said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter.
He continued, saying the country is moving toward, ”an oligarchy where Elon Musk and other billionaires are running the government. They're seeing the Trump administration moving us toward an authoritarian form of society.”
Sanders argued the administration is usurping power from Congress and the courts, and that congressional Republicans are proposing massive tax breaks for billionaires while cutting back veteran supports, Social Security, Medicaid and education “so that the rich can become even richer.”
The rally is taking place amid protests across the metro sparked after ICE arrested prominent immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra.
