Tea party leaders try to keep tax day rallies from portraying image of extremists

Tea party leaders anxious about extremists

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Organizers of tax-day tea parties are preparing for their biggest day of the year as thousands of demonstrators participate in local rallies.

Organizers want to project an image Thursday of peaceful people upset by big spending, high taxes and a burdensome federal government. They are striving to keep the rallies from presenting another image — of fringe groups, extremists or infiltrators obsessed with hateful messages.

Some rally planners have uninvited controversial speakers, beefed up security and are urging participants to pack cameras to capture evidence of any disrupters.

The National Tea Party Federation estimates that between 1,700 and 2,000 tax-day rallies are occurring in communities across the country.