A leader in the Occupy Atlanta protest admitted that the group made a mistake when it refused to allow Rep. John Lewis to speak last weekend.

Lewis, who showed up at Woodruff Park in support of the protesters last Friday was told there was no "consensus" for him to speak.

"That expression came out in a way that was probably, from my perspective, a tactical error,"  Tim Franzen said Thursday on the Redding News Review radio program. "But it was coming from, I think, a good place. A place where we want to live in a participatory society, where everybody plays by the same rules."

He said Lewis is now welcome to address the group. Lewis has said he was not offended by the denial.

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Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. 
(Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez