Organizers of a “White Lives Matter” rally have applied for permits to hold an event Oct. 28 on the Rutherford County Courthouse lawn, city and county officials confirmed Monday.

The National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist group based in Detroit, will be joined by other member organizations of the Nationalist Front — including the League of the South and the Traditionalist Workers Party — for the event in Murfreesboro as well as one planned for the same day in Shelbyville.

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Rutherford County and Murfreesboro city officials will meet Tuesday to determine whether the request meets city and county guidelines before the event is approved.

“We have to be very thoughtful about their rights and our citizens’ rights here, and what we’d need to do to properly manage this (event),” said Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess. “We’re still working together and having some serious discussions about how we should manage this. … We’ll do our very best to do the right thing.”

'Taking this matter very seriously'

Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said local officials are "taking this matter very seriously" to prevent violence like that in Charlottesville, Va., where Heather Heyer, 32, was killed after a car crashed into a crowd of people protesting against a white nationalist rally in August.

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"In August, the nation watched in horror as white supremacists stormed the streets of Charlottesville, causing the chaos and bloodshed. Now, these hate groups have set their sights on Tennessee," said Matt Ferry, Rutherford County Democratic Party chairman. "We will not stand silent and wait for these hate groups to create another Heather Heyer."

The planned rallies on Oct. 28 are not the first time white supremacist groups have chosen Middle Tennessee as a venue. The League of the South held simultaneous demonstrations in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro in October 2013.

Brad Griffin, a League of the South member and one of the event organizers, said the events are designed to draw attention to last month's shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch. They're also protesting the resettlement of refugees and a "demographic transformation of Middle Tennessee."

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"These groups are coming to Middle Tennessee under the guise of protesting the removal of Confederate monuments, the resettlement of refugees and more. Their true purpose is to spread hateful rhetoric and encourage violence against any that are not a part of their master race," Ferry said.

Ferry said flyers for the hate groups are already circulating on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University, which he finds troublesome.

Counterprotesters to attend

Corey Lemley, a self-described antifa activist, has posted heavily on social media to encourage counterprotesters to turn out in opposition. Antifa, a term derived from anti-fascism, are far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.

"The community needs to be ready to defend itself against white nationalists and neo-Nazis," said Lemley. "Fascism has no place here and we will defend the immigrant community, LGBT community, Muslim community, black community, and all communities that oppose this fascist movement."

The NSM events in late October will take place less than a week after the two-year anniversary of the Love Your Neighbor Picnic, which was born out of a similar protest planned at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has been the target of numerous threats over the years, including vandalism in July when two men were caught on surveillance defacing the building with spray paint and writing profanity using strips of raw bacon.

In October 2015, the Global Rally for Humanity tried to organize an anti-Muslim protest at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. The rally fizzled, as less than a handful of anti-Muslim protesters showed up.

The next Love Your Neighbor Picnic is set for 3-7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Pavilion 7 in Barfield Crescent Park, 697 Veterans Parkway in Murfreesboro. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Reach reporter Nancy De Gennaro at 615-278-5148 or degennaro@dnj.com.