Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Ottawa residents, officials react after weekend protests

Transcript

Ottawa residents, officials react after weekend protests · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Ottawa residents officials react after weekend protests. Written by Bill Frescos.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. Ottawa residents and elected officials are
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: speaking out after two protests over the weekend prompted reactions
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: about free speech and the community's values as a whole.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: A group of mass demonstrators marched down Ottawa on Saturday afternoon,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: holding up a large sign that read Deport Invaders. The
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: group also passed out leaflets with a heading of no
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: more Foreign Wars. Their flyers were labeled as coming from
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group designated a hate
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Then on Sunday,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: a larger protest drew residents who gathered and denounced the
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: previous day's event. Both protests concluded without reported incidents, according
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: to the Ottawa Police Department. For Ottawa resident Matt Linderbaum,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: he wasn't necessarily surprised to see the far right protests
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: on Saturday. I've seen similar protests in cities closer to
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: the suburbs, like Joliet, so I was kind of wondering
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: when it was going to come around here, Linderbaum said
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: about the protest on Saturday. He also mentioned how demonstrations
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: like that showcase the challenge of balancing free speech with
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: personal convictions. Freedom of speech is sometimes a hard pill
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: to swallow, but everybody's got the right, he said. Well,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: he said he supports the right to protest. He questioned
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: why the demonstrators put on masks. If you've got the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: guts to stand out there for what you believe in
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: and protest something, people should be able to at least
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: see your face. Linderbaum said, if you're worried about losing
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: your job or something because people won't agree with you
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: being out there, then just don't be out there. He
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: also said that he believes city should require permits for
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: protests and make them publicly available so opposing groups can
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: organize safely and avoid confrontations. Ottawa resident Meredith Brown said
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: she first learned about the protests through Facebook. I wasn't
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: necessarily surprised to see the protest on Saturday. Brown said,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: there's a lot a lot of conservatives in our county,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: and those people have the right to protest freely too,
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: but I don't agree with the message they were trying
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: to send. When she found out about Sunday's demonstration, she
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: initially worried the demonstration could become violent, but was glad
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: it remained peaceful. I'm just relieved there was no violence,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: she said. If there would have been an incident, it
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: might have created a chain reaction of sorts. In a
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: statement speaking on behalf of the City council and Ottawa
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Police Chief Mike Cheatham, posted on Facebook, Mayor Rob Hasty
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: said the city is nonpartisan and supports everyone's constitutional right
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: to peacefully express their views while working to keep the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: public safe. However, he pointed to the community's response as
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: a reflection of the city's character. When our community gathers,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: you see their faces, Hasty wrote, you see your friends,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: your neighbors, your co workers, and the people you pass
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: every day at the grocery store in downtown. That is
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: one of Ottawa's greatest strengths. That is the Ottawa we
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: believe in. State Senator Sue Reason R. Marris condemned the
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: group while reaffirming First Amendment protections. I unequivocally condemn the
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Patriot Front and the hateful ideology they represent. Resin said,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: these outside agitators do not represent the values of LaSalle
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: County or the people who call this community home. Reason
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: said extremist groups should not use local communities as a
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: backdrop for their agenda or to create division among our residents.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: At the same time, the First Amendment guarantees every American
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: the right to peacefully express their views, and that is
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: a right that must be detected, regardless of political belief,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: she wrote in a statement. Reason also thanked the Ottawa
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Police Department, the LaSalle County Sheriff's Office, and other public
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: officials for helping ensure everything remained peaceful while protecting the
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: constitutional rights of those involved. State Representative Amy Murray Brielle
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: said the demonstration brought hateful rhetoric closer to home than
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: many residents are accustomed to seeing. The last few days
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: have been a surreal moment in time where hate and
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: divisiveness is no longer separate from reality on a screen
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: or on a TV channel. It's right here on our streets,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: in our home, Briill wrote in a statement. Brielle criticized
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the masked men, saying they were promoting white supremacist ideology
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: and was glad to see the community respond. On Sunday,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I am entirely proud of the group of residents that
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: chose to peacefully respond to this hate. She wrote, this
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: is not what Illinois Valley families want. While acknowledging individuals
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: have a constitution all right to protest, Briel said she
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: believes there is a clear line between free speech and
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: hate speech.