Metro officials are no longer contemplating providing separate trains to protesters attending a white nationalist rally this weekend, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
“Metro will not be providing a special train or special car for anyone next Sunday,” Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said.
He had said previously that authorities were weighing the option, according to The Post.
Hundreds of protesters and counterprotesters will likely descend on D.C. this weekend for Sunday’s “Unite the Right” rally, an iteration of the Charlottesville demonstration last year that ended in violence and the death of a counterprotester.
Evans, who is also a Ward 2 D.C. Council member, said officials have been considering several security measures ahead of the rally to avoid violence between participants and opponents. But reports late last week that Metro was considering providing separate trains for rallygoers elicited widespread backlash from groups saying the accommodation amounted to “special treatment” for white nationalists, The Post reported.
“We’re not trying to give anyone special treatment,” Evans said. “We’re just trying to avoid scuffles and things of that nature.”
Demonstration participants will board the Metro in Virginia Sunday afternoon and head to Foggy Bottom. Protesters then plan to march from the station to Lafayette Square, where the demonstration will take place, according to the rally’s website.
While Metro halted discussions about separate services for protesters, the Metropolitan Police Department may heighten police presence on trains, according to The Post.