Two ‘ICE OUT’ events planned in Riverhead this weekend

UPDATE: The location of the protest Saturday morning has been changed. It will now take place at Riverhead Town Hall, 4 W. Second Street, Riverhead. The time remains the same: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Two “ICE OUT” demonstrations are planned in Riverhead this weekend. 

On Friday evening, one of nine coordinated vigils across the East End will take place outside Riverhead Town Hall, organizers announced in a press release Monday. Participants are asked to bring a flashlight or candle.

“Faith leaders and community volunteers will be on site to lead the vigils and everyone is welcome to attend to share in community and a call for peace and justice,” said the press release, sent out by Anita Boyer of Hampton Bays, one of the organizers of the actions.

The vigils are planned from 6 to 7 p.m. at the following locations, the release said:

East Hampton at Hook Mill; Sag Harbor at the windmill; Southampton at Agawam Park; Hampton Bays at Macy’s lot; Westhampton Beach at the gazebo; Riverhead at Town Hall; Cutchogue at the Village Green; Greenport at Mitchell Park; Shelter Island at Town Hall.

A second event is planned for Saturday, Jan. 31, at Riverhead Town Hall, 4 West Second Street in Riverhead. Organizers said they are inviting residents from across the East End to gather Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

“Our call to action is to engage community members to join action groups, to demand accountability for ICE agents who are acting outside of the law, and to get our community leaders and all government officials to step up in meaningful ways to protect public safety,” the press release said.

The vigils and demonstration are organized by the group of local residents who held coordinated candlelight vigils on Jan. 9 in East End hamlets, including Riverhead, to mourn the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 7. 

The upcoming actions were organized after Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by Customs and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 24.

Good and Pretti, both 37-year-old Minneapolis residents, were observers watching and/or recording federal agents during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis-St. Paul known as “Operation Metro Surge.” 

Both shootings were captured on multiple videos recorded by bystanders and, in the case of Good’s shooting, by the ICE officer who shot her. The videos, as well as the contradictory descriptions of the shootings asserted by the president and top administration officials, drew national outrage and protests . Administration officials almost immediately labeled both shooting victims “domestic terrorists” and “professional agitators” and accused them of violence or attempted violence against federal agents and of interfering with enforcement actions. 

“This is a coordinated response of concerned local advocacy groups and community members working together to defend our democracy and uphold our constitutional rights,” the press release continued.  “Both actions are peaceful gatherings within our First Amendment rights to gather and protest.”