Counterprotesters gather at courthouse to support Confederate statue

Subhead

'I think it should stay. It represents history.'

Image
  • Counterprotesters at the Putnam County Courthouse on Saturday.
    Counterprotesters at the Putnam County Courthouse on Saturday.
  • Counterprotesters at the Putnam County Courthouse on Saturday.
    Counterprotesters at the Putnam County Courthouse on Saturday.
  • Sue Holland and Dutch Holland of Satsuma at the counterprotest Saturday
    Sue Holland and Dutch Holland of Satsuma at the counterprotest Saturday
  • A supporter with a Confederate flag behind the monument at the courthouse Saturday.
    A supporter with a Confederate flag behind the monument at the courthouse Saturday.
  • Law enforcement officers watch during Saturday's counterprotest at the Putnam County Courthouse.
    Law enforcement officers watch during Saturday's counterprotest at the Putnam County Courthouse.
  • A man holds a flag supporting President Trump at Saturday's counterprotest at the Putnam County Courthouse.
    A man holds a flag supporting President Trump at Saturday's counterprotest at the Putnam County Courthouse.
  • Barricades surround the Confederate monument at the Putnam County Courthouse onSaturday.
    Barricades surround the Confederate monument at the Putnam County Courthouse onSaturday.
Body

By Nick Blank

Palatka Daily News

nblank@palatkadailynews.com

A crowd of about 250 people went to the Putnam County Courthouse in downtown Palatka on Saturday afternoon in support of the county’s Confederate statue and against the Black Lives Matter rally about 2 miles away.

“Palatka Strong: FL Patriots Unite vs. BLM, Antifa, Black Panthers” rally organizer Luis Miguel, of St. Augustine, said the statute represented sacrifices of residents from the South. He said Confederate veterans deserved to be recognized, and it is possible to honor African-American history without removing the statue.

“It’s a very sensitive issue. We’re highly in support of people exercising their First Amendment (right) to remove things as we exercise ours to want to keep things in place,” Miguel said.

Several attendees wore body armor and military fatigues. Groups such as Proud Boys and Florida Rising also attended. Miguel said the groups were not trying to intimidate anyone, but they saw riots in larger cities across the country and were taking precautions.

“We’ve found that by our mere presence here, a lot of times when they see such huge turnouts, that will dissuade any such violence from occurring,” Miguel said.

Palatka resident Bryan Wilbanks said he could compromise with Tevel Adams and Dar’Nesha Leonard’s goal to move the statue to a cemetery where Confederate veterans were interred, but then he asked what would happen after it was moved.

He also questioned why Adams and Leonard, who organized a protest in June and Saturday's rally calling for the relocation of the statue, stopped talking about removing the Maltby Oak.  

“That statue is in no way, shape or form hurting anybody,” Wilbanks said.

Dutch Holland and his mother, Sue Holland, both of Satsuma, attended the counterprotest at the courthouse. Dutch Holland had a Confederate flag and his mother had an American flag.

The Hollands decided to attend the counterprotest at the courthouse, where supporters rallied to keep the monument where it is, rather than attend Adams and Leonard's protest at the Putnam County Government Complex.

“I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was prepared in case it wasn’t (peaceful),” Dutch Holland said. “Because I knew there were two protests going on, I figured it would be much safer to show up (at the courthouse). One was against them and one was for them. Because they knew they were equally numbered, they were probably more willing to stay more peaceful.”

Dutch Holland said he believed the Confederate monument should remain at the courthouse.

“I think it should stay. It represents history and it’s a statue of a United States citizen,” Dutch Holland said. “He’s done nothing wrong. He deserved to be remembered for what he did.”

Sue Holland said because residents pay taxes for the courthouse and the grounds where the statue is located, it belongs to taxpayers.

“It belongs to us, not just one group of people,” Sue Holland said. “It’s ours. We own the courthouse, the taxpayers. I want to keep it. It’s mine. I pay for it. He is an employee representing history and I pay for him.”

“Buffalo” Bob Collet from De Leon Springs said the Confederate statue was a piece of history. He said he was there to support the country, police and President Donald Trump.

“We’ve got to preserve history,” Collet said. “These are the true Americans right here. We’re tired of what we’re told in the media. This shows us we’re not the minority; we’re the quiet majority.”

St. Augustine resident Carol Dickerson said removing the statue was a slippery slope and that somebody was always going to be offended about something. She said the feeling of many people at the rally was that Black Lives Matter didn’t want to benefit Black people, but wanted to fundamentally change the country. She said she felt like people couldn’t agree to disagree anymore.

 “Let’s come out and support America and the fact that all of American history matters no matter what sides it’s from,” Dickerson said.

Richard Earl, a five-generation Putnam County resident, said the decision to keep the statue should be in the hands of residents. He thanked Putnam County and out-of-county supporters for attending the rally.

“If you want to move it, that’s our decision, not the county’s and not two college kids who decided they want to use intimidation to push our county commission into taking that monument down because that’s taking our heritage and our history away from us,” Earl said.

 

Palatka Daily News Editor Wayne Smith contributed to this story.