— After 11 weeks of protests at the legislature over Republican-backed policy changes in North Carolina, the GOP plans to strike back Tuesday with its own rally showing support for the agenda.

The so-called "Thankful Tuesday" rally is set for 5 p.m. on Halifax Mall, behind the Legislative Building.

The event comes 24 hours after the 11th so-called "Moral Monday" protest. More than 700 people have been arrested during the weekly demonstrations, which protest everything from cuts to unemployment benefits to requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls to proposed regulations on abortion clinics.

Claude Pope, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, sent an email to party supporters, whom he called "patriots," on Monday, outlining plans for the Tuesday rally.

"The theme of the event will be to thank our legislators for their efforts on so many major policy changes that were desperately needed in our state after decades of failed Democrat control," Pope wrote in the email.