Competing rallies in Portland following fatal stabbings

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Hundreds of people are expected to gather in Portland on Sunday for competing rallies following the fatal stabbing of two men on a light-rail train by a man police say was shouting anti-Muslim slurs.

A pro-Donald Trump free speech rally had been previously planned for Sunday afternoon by a conservative group. The event organized by the group Patriot Prayer was billed on its Facebook page as a Trump Free Speech Rally.

Mayor Ted Wheeler last week unsuccessfully tried to get a permit for the event yanked, saying he feared violence after the May 26 killings. Counter-protesters organized by religious and labor groups are also expected to show up downtown.

Mat Dos Santos, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, has said it was wrong and unconstitutional for Wheeler to try to stop the demonstration based on the viewpoint of the organizers.