Hundreds of supporters showed up at separate Back the Blue and Black Lives Matter rallies Sunday afternoon.
Hundreds of people flocked to Doylestown Borough Sunday afternoon for two different causes.
Near the old courthouse, local police supporters held signs saying "Back the Blue," or "Blue Lives Matter," at they cheered on their local police departments.
Not too far down the street, by the Starbucks on Main Street, young activists and others came out to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kristine Davies, of Doylestown Township, helped organize the "Back the Blue" event. She said she wanted to show police how much the community supports them.
"They’re heroes and they should be treated as such," she said.
Davies, whose husband is a veteran and now a police officer, said 99% of officers are amazing people.
She said she wanted to show the other side of the issue, that people want to support their police officers.
"It’s sad because the media’s only showing the one side," Davies said. "People want to support police officers."
Caragh White, a senior at Central Bucks High School East, said she began organizing the Black Lives Matter demonstration about a week prior, when her mother told her about the Back the Blue rally on social media.
"I decided that I didn’t want that to be the narrative that’s pushed in our community," White said just before the demonstration officially began at 1:30 that afternoon.
White said the demonstration was not meant to counter the Back the Blue rally, but was a separate rally.
During the Back the Blue rally, people cheered as police supporters, including a large group of motorcyclists, drove through Main Street. Residents waved flags such as ones saying "Back the Blue," "Blue Lives Matter," or "Trump 2020." Other held signs supporting their local departments, such as Warwick, Plumstead and Perkasie.
John Corbett, of Hilltown, said he was there because he was upset over what was happening to police all over the country. He said Black Lives Matter started with good intentions, but was "hijacked" by the "radical left."
"We’re not here to protest," he said. "We’re here to show support."
Any opportunity to support the police is one he would take, Corbett said.
"The police are the only line of defense we have between us and the criminal element," he said.
Warren St. John, of Horsham, stood at the event wearing a blue "Back the Blue" T-shirt. St. John said he came out to show support for police in general.
"These are the guys who put their lives on the line for you," he said.
Both Corbett and St. John noted there was no violence at the rally.
District Attorney Matt Weintraub spoke to police supporters at the event Sunday as well. The DA spoke highly of the county law enforcement, and credited their dedication to the job.
"Of course we all know if you call 911 ... when everyone else is running out and away, our law enforcement brothers, our brothers in blue, are running in," he said.
Weintraub mentioned how recently officers in Hilltown entered a burning barn and saved horses during a fire.
"It’s the epitome of protecting and serving regardless of who they protect and serve," he said.
. @BucksDa Weintraub speaks at the Back the Blue rally pic.twitter.com/VntlRirtP1
— Chris Dornblaser (@ChrisDornblaser) August 2, 2020Central Bucks Regional Police Chief Karl Knott said there were no arrests from either events. Police estimated between 1,600 and 1,800 people between both events.
"Everybody’s been very good," Knott said about two hours in.
The chief said there was a bigger police presence at the Back the Blue rally because the event itself was bigger. A section of a road near the building was closed off while the event took place Sunday.
Knott said officers from about 12 local police departments assisted Sunday afternoon.
"This was in the planning process about 10 days," Knott said.
Short video of motorcycles supporting police driving through the borough earlier. pic.twitter.com/4YUEwz2cVu
— Chris Dornblaser (@ChrisDornblaser) August 2, 2020For the Black Lives Matter rally, the first 20 demonstrators were outside the Starbucks at State and Main streets at 1 Sunday afternoon.
After the first hour of the demonstration, more than 200 people lined the sidewalks along at least two blocks on the main thoroughfare in Doylestown Borough.
The demonstration was peaceful, but not without its tense moments.
Shortly before the demonstration officially started at 1 p.m., about a dozen Harley Davidson riders drove through Main Street revving their engines loudly.
At least one raised his middle finger as he drove by the teenaged organizers, and the parade of bikers would lap the protest several more times before the day was through.
A flurry of American flags featuring the single blue stripe attached to pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles made rounds up and down the street throughout the demonstration.
Marlene Pray, a long-time advocate for a number of social causes in the Doylestown area, organized a group of adults to act as "peacekeepers."
Pray said the adult chaperones were there only to aid the student organizers, and to de-escalate any problems.
The peacekeepers held a post at several areas along the sidewalk, directing new demonstrators away from the Court Street demonstration.
Several times the peacekeepers said they wanted to keep a buffer between the groups to avoid confrontation.
Slowly, a number of people from the Back the Blue rally were seen gathering in the area just north of the coffee shop.
Several were seated outside Chambers Restaurant, while two members from each group were seen exchanging insults at each other.
Another man, carrying a "Defend the Police" sign began walking into the group of Black Lives Matters demonstrators, with another handful following suit.
Just before the group began an 8 minute 49 second moment of silence, Pray and other peacekeepers began asking their demonstrators to move down one block.
A man dressed in a red Trump 2020 visor and a holstered pistol was heard as he entered the Starbucks telling others to "make some noise" when the moment of silence began started.
That same man would walk later walk among the protestors kneeling on the ground to yell thanks to police officers through a loudspeaker.
"I'm here because I'm Black in Bucks County and I feel as if you're a person of color and you're not coming out to support, why are you hiding? You should support this as much as you possibly can, and being here is a sign of supporting it," said Akira Riddick, one of many adults participating Sunday.
Another demonstrator, Chris Arzy, said living in the suburbs can make race issues feel like a problem in the cities.
"I feel as though, especially in the suburban areas, people act as though it’s not a factor, that protests only happen in cities, and they act as though racism isn’t a problem," Arzy said.
"But, it’s everywhere and it’s not gone," Arzy added.
A few heated moments aside, White said late in the afternoon the demonstration went off about as peacefully as she hoped.
"I think this went well, I think this was good," White said after thanking the crowd.
"Even if 10 people or 200 showed up, I think we were able to get our message out, that we are not going to stand for racism in this town and we’re not going to stand for injustice."
Staff writer Melina Walling contributed to this report.
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