Georgia Park With Confederate Sculpture Shuts Gates To Rally

Caption

This June 23, 2015 file photo shows a carving depicting Confederate Civil War figures Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

A suburban Atlanta park that's home to a massive carving of Confederate leaders says it will close its gates Saturday in the face of a planned right-wing rally.

The event at Stone Mountain Park has sparked fears of violence, especially before an all-Black militia said earlier this week that it would cancel plans to show up. Other groups were still planning to counterprotest.

Pro-Confederate, white supremacist and other right-wing groups had planned their event in response to a march by the Black militia group on July 4. Last year, the park also closed down rather than allow a rally organized by white supremacists to go forward.