ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke man is planning a peaceful demonstration downtown in response to the violence taking place in rallies across the country.
Daniel Highberger is organizing a walk Sunday that will start at 2 p.m. from the Robert E. Lee monument and go to the Martin Luther King Jr. statue.
He says the event is about showing love in the community, and it's not an event in support of or opposition to Confederate monuments. He says there will probably be people with Confederate battle flags, but he encourages people to fly whatever flag they want as long as everyone respects each other.
“What I really want to see happen is everybody from every walk of life no matter your political views, no matter your heritage or your history or whatever you believe in, I think it’s important that we come together and we start having these conversations," Highberger said.
He said he’s applied for a permit for the event and has reached out to the NAACP and the Peacemakers about supporting it. He has organized pro-Second Amendment rallies in the past.
He says the media coverage has led to people seeing more of the hate than the love that’s going on at these events.