A highly-anticipated rally against gun violence cannot be held on the National Mall as planned due to a permit conflict with filming for a talent show, according to a National Park Service permit.
Survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting filed a permit application for the Mall, which specified the “March For Our Lives” rally will be on March 24, with up to 500,000 attendees expected, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The event coordinators are now seeking a new location for the rally after learning about the permit conflict.
Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the Park Service, told the Post the permit was from a “student group at a local educational institution,” the name of which is being withheld for privacy reasons.
The event’s official Facebook page shows 32,000 people say they will attend the march, and still shows the event will be located on the National Mall.
The rally, which has garnered financial support from high-profile celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, will feature “student speakers, musical performers, guest speakers and video tributes,” according to the permit application. The permit asks for 14 Jumbotrons, 2,000 chairs, and 2,000 portable restrooms to be allowed on the site.
The applicants, whose permit was approved for the Mall on March 24, listed equipment such as two tables, two bikes, and jump ropes, according to the Washington Post.
According to their website, the march is specifically geared towards demanding “a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues.”
On Feb. 14, a former student carried out a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people.
