Some Republicans Remain Silent About Latest Proud Boys March In RVC

Rockville Centre NY

24 May, 2022

3:46 PM

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — It's been several days since the ultra-right-wing group the Proud Boys marched into Rockville Centre for a second time. While Democratic politicians from the area and other parts of Nassau County condemned the rally within 24 hours of the Saturday march, Republicans have been slower to respond. Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray has not issued a statement. After the Proud Boys came into the village in October, Murray claimed he wasn't familiar with the alt-right group. Murray eventually condemned the previous march as a "hateful group." Patch left multiple messages for the mayor's spokesperson. After this initial version was posted, the Mayor's spokesperson responded with a link to their website and you can view the response here. Murray said, in part, that a priority was "to recognize the extent to which such activity is protected by the First Amendment." He said the community is made of law-abiding citizens "who will not allow divisive rhetoric of any kind to divide us." We tried to reach Proud Boys Long Island via Twitter for comment. Another Republican that has yet to specifically address what happened is County Executive Bruce Blakeman. He marched in the Celebrate Israel parade last weekend with Rep. Lee Zeldin (gubernatorial candidate) and others, where he condemned recent acts of anti-Semitism. "Hate has no place in our society," Blakeman posted to Facebook. We attempted to get a response from Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin, a Republican. However, the Democrat, former supervisor Laura Gillen, running for the 4th Congressional District, tweeted: "I was disgusted to hear about the Proud Boys marching through our town last Saturday. Rockville Centre is no place for hate, misogyny and racism." Murray also said in his statement that "such demonstrations are designed to provoke confrontation and publicity. This village will always protect public safety and will not be provoked into actions which give unsavory groups the notoriety and public attention which they crave."