LEWISTON – Police Chief William Welch says his department has received recent reports of threats, intimidation and other harassment directed at the city’s Somali immigrants.

Welch served notice at a news conference Tuesday that police will be vigilant to ensure that the rights of the Somalis are protected.

“Everybody’s entitled to the same rights here,” he said. “People have a right to walk the streets of Lewiston, Auburn and the state of Maine, without fear that they’re going to be in harm’s way.”

Authorities cited reports of cars that speeded up as Somali women were crossing the street.

Police suggested that the increase in harassment may be linked to a white supremacist rally planned for Jan. 11 in Lewiston. The rally was being held in response to a widely publicized controversy in which the mayor asked the Somali community to try to slow the rate of migration because the city’s resources were strained.