MANKATO — A local attorney and his son are throwing a tea party under the Veterans Memorial Bridge Thursday, hoping to be joined by hundreds of people from throughout south-central Minnesota.

“I see it as a way for normal human beings to speak and have members of Congress listen,” said Andy Johnson Jr., who is organizing the rally/protest along with his father.

The date of the tea party is April 15, the day federal taxes are due and the first anniversary of Mankato’s initial attempt to capture the energy of the tea party movement nationally. About 200 people showed up for the 2009 protest in Jackson Park across Second Street from the Mankato post office.

Johnson was there, along with his father, holding a “Mad As Hell” sign. Both were interviewed by local media and both were affected by the event.

“To me it was the start of something major coming,” the younger Johnson said.

Andy Johnson Sr., a Mankato resident who has a law office on North Mankato’s Belgrade Avenue, enjoyed the camaraderie of being with others who were upset about American government — particularly the rising national debt.

“I found it was a joy to be with like-minded people ...,” the elder Johnson said. “It was good to be with people that felt the same way. And it was good to see the cross-section of citizens — average citizens of various backgrounds in a peaceful way demonstrating concern with where the country is heading.”

That was pretty much it for Mankato tea party protests in 2009, but the Johnsons found themselves being interviewed again when they attended the Republican caucuses earlier this year. They took it as a sign that they were meant to get the tea party movement organized locally.

So they’re putting the Tax Day Tea Party Rally together, a task that ranges from printing fliers to arranging for a portable toilet. The event, expected to last about two hours, will begin at 5:30 p.m. under the bridge next to the Blue Earth County Library.

People are asked to bring signs and flags. A more informal gathering will be held starting at about 8 p.m. at the Wow! Zone family entertainment center.

But both hope the rally won’t be the end of it, and will ask people to put e-mail addresses on sign-up sheets, allowing other events to be organized through the 2010 campaign season and beyond.

“Our plan is to get them organized so it’s year-long,” Johnson Sr. said.

Nationally, the tea party movement has had a short and mixed history. There have been huge rallies dominated by average citizens concerned about debt, taxes and perceived violations of the Constitution.

Some rallies fizzled or generated negative publicity when tea party attendees appeared to have reached toxic levels of rage, some carrying racist signs aimed at President Obama.

The Johnsons know they might end up attracting a few people on Thursday who have views from the outer fringes of the political spectrum. In the interests of free speech, no one will be asked to leave unless they’re being disruptive.

Speaking, though, will be restricted to a pre-ordained list of local residents and political candidates asked to talk about three issues: fiscal responsibility, constitutional limits on government and the importance of free markets.

So far, one Independence Party candidate for Congress is planning to speak, as are Republicans seeking congressional and legislative seats. Democrats were invited but are not expected to attend.

Johnson Jr. is on the board of the Minnesota State University College Republicans, but he characterizes his views as independent/conservative. His father was active in the Ross Perot presidential campaign and was a supporter of Jesse Ventura’s campaign for governor.

“We don’t want the Republican Party to think they’re going to absorb us,” Johnson Sr. said. “We’re not an organization that endorses candidates.”

So — even if the rally turns out to be a big one — will anything lasting come from it? The 56-year-old Johnson thinks it would send a message to elected officials that people are watching them more closely and demanding a change in course.

The 26-year-old Johnson agrees. But he also hopes that his efforts lead to something permanent — something that results in some new capital letters joining the GOP and the DFL.

“My hope is that the Tea Party will be an organization that in the future would have elected officials,” he said.