Back The Blue & Black Lives Matters Rallies Draw Hundreds To County Seat

Two large rallies brought people from around the area to the county seat of Doylestown Borough on Sunday.

The Back The Blue and Black Lives Matter rallies took place in the heart of the borough under sunny skies. The Black Lives Matter demonstration was in reaction to the Back the Blue event being announced.

The Back The Blue rally was largely contained to the area around the Bucks County Administration Building and the Black Lives Matter rally stayed about a block away near the Starbucks. Both events drew several hundred people, but the Back the Blue rally appeared larger.

No arrests were reported, but there were tense moments as several people from both rallies confronted one another.

A man wearing a visor with President Donald Trump’s name on it used a small megaphone to goad the Black Lives Matter group several times by making incendiary comments. A short time later, Black Lives Matter demonstrators came over to drowned out his cries and police stepped between the two groups. Officers took the man’s large flag that he had inadvertently struck several people with and passed it to another demonstrator.

A few feet away, a man yelled the “n-word” at the Black Lives Matters group several times and displayed a Nazi-style salute before quickly walking away.

A Black Lives Matter rally member got in the face of a man with a “Blue Lives Matter” shirt during a war of words before people nearby pulled both apart outside of the busy Starbucks.

Several members of the Back The Blue rally yelled at the Black Lives Matter group from across the street as they observed several minutes of silence.

The event drew police officers from around the county. The officers kept the groups separated and traffic moving. The county’s large mobile command post was set up near the Administration Building.

Signs at the events read: “Back The Blue,” “Black Lives Matter, “Defend The Police,” “All Cops Are Bastards,” “Trump 2020,” and “Stop Killing Us.”

At the Back The Blue event, there was visible support for Trump’s reelection campaign and a tent selling campaign-style merchandise.

Both events drew a countless number of horn honks.

Jon Berkes, a Levittown native who now lives in Horsham, Montgomery County, said he came out to support police because he feels there is tremendous pressure against them.

“What they do everyday is hard work. There’s some bad apples in the bunch, but the overwhelming majority do their job well and keep us safe,” he said, pointing to the officers working the demonstrations in the hot weather.

“It’s about time we stop being silent,” said Chalfont resident Karen Smith. “I’m here to support our police.”

Smith said her politics did play a role in her coming out, but her main incentive was to show local officers she had their backs.

“I didn’t even know about this until not that long ago and I thought it was important to come,” she added.

Michele, a Bristol Township resident who declined to give her last name because her job, said recent protests across the country decrying police abusing their powers and the murders of black men at the hands of law enforcement drew her to Doylestown.

“I saw this on Facebook yesterday and knew I had to go. I usually don’t do this sort of stuff. I haven’t even been to Doylestown before today,” she said.

“It’s not that we don’t need police officers,” she said. “We don’t need bad ones, and we want everyone to know that Black Lives Matter as much as anyone else’s life.”

Morris Derry, who organized the recent Black Lives Matter march in Bristol Borough, said the message in Doylestown was that Black lives do really matter. He noted that doesn’t mean he is against police, and he supports better relations between communities and officers.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub briefly spoke at the Back The Blue rally and thanked officers for their hard work. He also talked with Black Lives Matter demonstrators, including Derry.