Organizers postpone March on Google in Pittsburgh because of 'left-wing terrorists'

Organizers of a free speech protest planned at Google locations across the United States, including in Pittsburgh, said late Tuesday that the marches will be postponed because of threats from “left-wing terrorists.”

“The Peaceful March on Google has been postponed due to credible Alt Left terrorist threats for the safety of our citizen participants,” organizers wrote on the protest's website.

The postponement of Saturday's rally comes after violent clashes in Charlottesville in which a car crashed into a crowd of activists, killing one person and injuring 19. On Tuesday, President Trump used the term “alt-left” and said both sides were to blame for the violence.

The Washington Post described the organizer of the Google march, Jack Posobiec, as “an alt-right activist and self-described ‘reality journalist' who used conspiracy theories to galvanize Trump supporters during the presidential campaign, including the infamous ‘Pizzagate' rumors of child trafficking.”

In announcing the postponement, Posobiec blamed the mainstream media, and in particular CNN, for making “malicious and false statements that our peaceful march was being organized by Nazi sympathizers.”

Google's office in Pittsburgh's Bakery Square was one of nine locations targeted by the anti-censorship rallies organized by Posobiec.

Posobiec told the Tribune-Review on Tuesday that he was concerned about threats of violence at the planned protests.

The rallies were planned in reaction to Google's firing of James Damore, a software engineer who wrote a controversial anti-diversity memo. Posobiec planned the rallies before protests over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.