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WASHINGTON - Broadcaster Glenn Beck and tea party activists have a right to rally in the nation's capital but not to distort Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Friday.
Sharpton described the demonstration on Saturday planned by Beck and his supporters as an anti-government rally advocating states' rights. And he said that goes against the message in King's famous ' ' I Have a Dream" speech, in which the civil rights leader appealed to the federal government to ensure equality.
Beck's " " Restoring Honor" rally was held at the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his speech exactly 47 years earlier. Beck and other organizers said the aim was to pay tribute to America's military personnel and others " ' who embody our nation's founding principles of integrity, truth and honor." The broadcaster toured the site Friday as supporters cheered.
Sharpton wasn't the only one upset with circumstance surrounding the event.
Leaders in the nation's capital said they were offended by a tea party blogger's warning to those attending to avoid two of Washington's subway lines because they go through certain neighborhoods. Many parts of the city are safe, he wrote, " "but why chance...