COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Coeur d'Alene locals wondered why there was such a slim police presence at an open carry rally downtown Saturday.
"Well when I see the whole thing with the people walking around with guns and everything and there's not a single cop around, it's kinda ridiculous because if it was people of my kind, the whole block would be blocked off," said Corde Bailey, a Black Coeur d'Alene resident.
"I think that there would be a big difference if there was a bunch of African-Americans down here with guns," said his fiance Christine Taysan. "You would see the police presence down here much more."
Patrol officers were in the area, but there was no increased police presence because of the rally, according to Coeur d'Alene police Ofc. Jared Reneau.
The rally remained peaceful throughout, according to KREM 2's Morgan Trau. Idaho is a legal open carry state.
The event, titled "Open Carry if you Care" on a Facebook event page before it was taken down, attracted about 150 participants, according to Trau. Over 700 people had responded that they were interested in the event before it was removed from the platform.
Trau said protesters marched down Sherman Avenue and gathered in a pavilion to listen to speakers.
The organizer of the rally was arrested before the protest on an outstanding warrant, according to authorities. The warrant was unrelated to the protest.
