'Back the Blue' Rallies: 500 Show Up For NYPD; Ozarks Plan Support For Weekend

As protests against police brutality continue, some are enjoining others to go to a "Back the Blue" rally to show their support for law enforcement.

Monday (June 22), 500 people showed up in Port Jefferson, waving their thin blue line and American flags for the New York Police Department (NYPD). Those who got up to speak at the event condemned the sentiment against law enforcers, who have been judged because of the actions of the Minneapolis cop who killed a Black man while in custody.

"Standing up here is hard, being here is hard, but we are doing what must be done," New York Back the Blue rally organizer Jonathan Stuart said, adding that the police continue to do their jobs despite the police brutality protests. "We know you have all Americans’ backs, and we have yours," Stuart said.

On Wednesday (June 24), Back the Blue demonstrators gathered at the Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York.

"They put their lives on the line for us," Laura Jene Decicco said when asked why she came. "Today would be the perfect opportunity for us to put our lives on the line for them.”

The rally, however, was cut short after a clash with counter-protesters demanding police reforms. Mike McGinn, who organized this Back the Blue event, said that he will reschedule.

Meanwhile, a Back the Blue rally has been set for Sunday (June 28) in the Ozarks to express support for Missouri's Springfield Police Department. At 2:00 p.m., the rally and walk will begin at the Park Central Square and end at the police's headquarters.

"It's basically letting them know that we do care, we haven't forgotten about them and their lives matter to us," Ozarks resident MaryAnn Sterner said. "We do have their backs, they are supported, we do understand that they get calls we couldn't even fathom."

Sterner's group can expect a counter-protest from the Southwest Missouri Cop Watchers and Radical Activists in Demand, who have planned their rally at 12:30 p.m. On their Facebook page, the group stated that they want accountability and police reforms, and not the glorification of cops.