A peaceful exercise of our constitutional rights

To the Editor: What a difference three years makes, and in a good way.

Readers might remember this piece I wrote back at that time, Town Should Have Had Police at Protest

Thank you Riverhead Democratic Committee, Southampton Town Democrats, and Indivisible North Fork for organizing and executing a peaceful exercise of the constitutional rights to free speech and assembly this past Saturday at New York State Supreme Court, Riverhead for the worldwide No Kings Day. The gathering was carried out flawlessly. Improvements to security were noticeable and greatly appreciated. There were no riots, no violence, or need for federal troops on standby here.

Special thanks to the following:

• volunteer peace marshals who monitored the crowd for first aid needs or unacceptable behavior

• Riverhead Police Chief Frost for providing traffic control, police presence, and establishing a safe zone for the event

• Commander Udice, New York State Police, Troop L, Riverside, for troopers assigned working alongside Riverhead Police Department officers

• Riverhead Highway Department for providing heavy equipment in support of creating a safe zone for the event

• plain clothes law enforcement, from various agencies, embedded among the attendees

Sincerely,

Mitchell Hagler

Roanoke Heights, Riverhead