Thaindian News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – Glenn Beck is hosting a large rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, the 47th anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, to allegedly honor U.S. troops, causing widespread controversy nationwide, CNN reported.

Beck, an icon to conservative voters across the U.S., says that the rally is nonpolitical in nature and is meant to honor American troops. Tea Party activists from across the country are expected to attend, with former Alaska Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is expected to have a significant speaking role.

A news release for the “Restoring Honor” rally said that the event was nonpolitical and “benefits the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth, and honor.” Beck has been heavily promoting the event on his television program hosted by Fox and on his radio broadcasts. He excused the timing of the event by saying that it wasn’t intentional.

“It was not my intention to select 8-28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it,” Beck said on his radio show in June quickly after making the announcement of the rally. Furthermore, he said that “Whites don’t own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. Those are American icons, American ideas, and we should just talk about character, and that’s really what this event is about,” he said. “It’s about honoring character.”

While Alveda King, a niece of the late civil rights leader will be speaking at the event, the NAACP has put out a carefully worded statement regarding the rally, as there has been plenty of criticism surrounding the event.

“It’s offensive because it’s out of line with the fact. It’s out of line with the truth. The reality is that the conservative movement in American historically has opposed the expansion of civil rights for all kinds of people,” Michael Fauntroy, assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University, said on CNN on Friday morning.

While there aren’t official estimates from the National Park Service regarding the size of the crowd expected, Brendan Steinhauser, director of state and federal campaigns for FreedomWorks, who have helped organize the event, predicts the crowd at around 250,000 or more. He thinks the crowd will fill up the Lincoln Memorial area, the reflecting pool, and possibly reach the area by the National World War II Memorial.