Sanders Denied Speaking Permit for DNC Rally

It’s been a bad week to be a Bernie Sanders supporter. First of all, the would-be Democratic candidate pretty much conceded defeat to presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton and threw his support behind her last week in a move that devastated Sanders’ fanbase and demoralized his hundreds of thousands of supporters across the country. Now, Sanders has been denied a permit to speak at a planned rally during the Democratic National Convention, to be held the week of July 25th in the City of Brotherly Love.

Bernie Sanders was denied a permit to hold a rally on the 24th.

The city clearly wasn’t feeling the brotherly love for the Bern when they shot down his permit request to hold an outdoor rally in South Philly on July 24th, the eve of the DNC. Jazelle M. Jones, a deputy city managing director, nixed Sanders’ application to speak to a crowd of around 40,000 at a baseball field at FDR Park. The explanation given for the denial? Ashburn Park is not designed to be used for “non-recreational purposes.” Now that’s what I call a sick Bern.

The denial letter, which was posted on the internet, invited Sanders to seek “a different staging area, time and/or route” for his rally. It was not made immediately clear whether Sanders would, in fact, be seeking a different venue for his rally or if he was going to throw it in and give up.

Meanwhile, the city continues to spruce itself up in anticipation of national exposure and tens of thousands of visitors, including press and politicians alike, repairing sidewalks, filling planters, and cleaning up the area surrounding the Wells Fargo Arena, where the DNC will take place.