Supremacist Anticipates Violent Rally : Simi Valley: Richard Barrett tries to drum up support among residents for his planned Saturday gathering.

White supremacist Richard Barrett, standing beside a flagpole outside Simi Valley City Hall, told a crowd of journalists Thursday that he expects violence to break out at his rally this weekend.

Barrett is a Mississippi lawyer who leads the Nationalist Movement, which believes in the superiority of the white race and the Christian religion. He plans to have a rally at the East County Courthouse on Saturday in support of the four Los Angeles police officers who received not guilty verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating case.

During stops at two Simi Valley shopping centers Thursday, he tried to drum up support from residents for the event. A few residents got into debates with Barrett, but most either politely took his flyer and left, or simply waved him off.

No one he approached said they supported his views.

“All of this media, all this coverage is what he wants,” said Ann Arledge, who was approached by Barrett on the way to her car at a Target store. “The fact that he’s coming here is really offensive to me.”

Barrett also put his flyers on car windshields, but one young man followed him and tore them off.

“I’m glad I was able to speak with people face-to-face instead of through the media,” Barrett said.

But Barrett lost interest in touring Simi Valley after a television crew from the news program “48 Hours” left. He and two followers--teen-age boys wearing paramilitary garb--ate lunch at a Burger King on Cochran Street. Barrett did not talk to other patrons until after he finished his sandwich.

Patti Stone, 46, of Simi Valley was in the middle of her lunch when Barrett slid into a seat across from her. He spoke to Stone for a moment, telling her about the rally, and left after giving her son a flyer.

Stone said, “Our community has been put in a position that we really didn’t want. Everyone’s entitled to their views, but we spent a lot of time in this country building up equal rights for everyone.”

She looked at a mound of french fries that she was going to eat, and then changed her mind. “I’ve lost my appetite,” she said.

During his trip to Griffin Plaza and the Target store, Barrett played to the television crew and reporters who followed him. The “48 Hours” crew and two other journalists trailed Barrett and his two followers for about 45 minutes.

As the small group followed him from store to store, Barrett slowed his pickup truck to make sure they wouldn’t lose him. He also took care to park his truck in areas where the reporters could also find parking spaces and told them what his plans would be at both stops.

According to experts who keep an eye on hate groups, Barrett thrives on media coverage and would probably be less of a threat without press attention.

He customarily calls a news conference a few days before his rallies to drum up publicity and hopes to draw crowds of counterdemonstrators, experts said.

At his City Hall news conference, flanked by his two young followers, Barrett quoted a Times article in which a counterdemonstrator said he came to “hurt . . . and possibly kill” Barrett and his followers during their rally at the courthouse June 6.

About 300 counterdemonstrators showed up at the June rally to protest against Barrett and his six supporters, who were planning to march to the courthouse. But Simi Valley police whisked Barrett and his followers into protective custody after some of the counterdemonstrators began throwing soda cans.

Leaders of the counterdemonstrators have said they are advocating nonviolence at Saturday’s rally.

On Thursday, Barrett called the counterdemonstrators “terrorists against Americans.”

Barrett fielded questions from reporters, taking care to address the television cameras. He advocated the repeal of the federal Civil Rights Act and refused to answer questions about whether he is a racist. He also handed out advance copies of the speech that he plans to make Saturday and pamphlets about the Nationalist Movement.

Officials at other cities where Barrett has marched said he has a history of stirring up strong emotions in communities where racial tensions exist.

Dawn Smith, a Simi Valley homemaker, wandered by the news conference from a nearby park.

“He’s full of wind,” Smith said, adding that Barrett would not come if the media did not give him coverage.

In June, Barrett held a similar news conference on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall before he demonstrated at the East County Courthouse. That event caught the attention of many activist groups from Ventura County and Los Angeles, who came to demonstrate against him. Police are predicting that a larger crowd will come this weekend. About 200 police officers and sheriff’s deputies are assigned to protect Barrett and his allies.

After his news conference, Barrett turned to the two Simi Valley police officers who were present in case of trouble, and thanked them for being there.

When Barrett offered his hand to Lt. Bob Klamser, the officer refused to shake it. Barrett then smiled and saluted him.

Afterward, Klamser said, “I choose whose hand I shake, and I won’t shake his hand.”