Ahead of KKK rally, Memphis council changes rules

(AP) MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis City Council has changed the ordinance on parades and public assemblies, prompted by a scheduled Ku Klux Klan rally.

Council members voted 13-0 Tuesday to give the city police director broad authority to set conditions for applying for public assembly permits.

The proposal would require groups from outside Memphis to cover the cost of providing additional police security at public assemblies. It also bans the wearing of masks for the purpose of civil rights intimidation and makes clear the ban on carrying weapons in public facilities in Memphis.

Police Director Toney Armstrong has set conditions for the scheduled March 30 Klan rally. Members of a North Carolina-based chapter of the white supremacist group plan to protest the renaming of three city parks that had honored the Confederacy.