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MASON COUNTY, THUF
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SINCE 1886 VOL. 134, NO. 37
Hundreds can
on streets of Shelton
iéJéSr’dan Weeks
gordon@masoncounty._ com
Hundreds of supporters of Black Lives Matter
and Back the Blue demonstrated in adjoining ral-
lies Sunday in downtown Shelton, with the two
groups at one point shouting face to face in front
of the Mason County Courthouse before police and
sheriffs deputies carrying rifles stepped between
them. ’
No injuries or arrests were reported, despite
concerns about violence that led several downtown
business owners to board up their windows.
The Back the Blue demonstrators were sched-
uled to rally in support of law officers at 2 pm.
at the intersection of First Street and West Rail-
road Avenue, but they arrived early and spread
out across five blocks to Evergreen Square at Fifth
Street and Railroad. Many carried rifles and hand-
guns. . v
“We’re not here for peaceful protesters,” said
Shelton resident Dee Kay, one of the organizers.
“We’re here for agitators with bad intentions.”
“We’re not worried about the in-town protesters,
we’re worried about out-of-towners” from Olympia
and Seattle, he said. .
Kay said the rally’s participants are not white
supremacists.
“None of us are here to start trouble We’re
just here to make sure nothing happens,” he said.
“I hope everybody stays calm,” said George
Blush, the owner of Nita’s Kofi'ee Shop on West
Railroad Avenue, who gathered with the Back the
Blue group. “I don’t carry a gun. I just hope every-
TOP: Carrying a U.S. flag, a ’marcher walks down
Franklin Street in Shelton on Sunday afternoon.
Hundreds of people in Black Lives Matter and
Back~the Blue rallies converged on the streets
of downtown Shelton. ABOVE: A Back the Blue
marcher carries a flag signifying the thin blue
line in support of police. See more photos Of the
marches on pages A-12 and A-13. Journal photos ‘
by Shawna Whe/an
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HELTON WA, 98584-3847
body stays safe There’s been too much fighting.”
Blush added, “I want peace. I want calm. I don’t
want to see anyone hurt.” -
The Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered
a block away at Post Office Park. By 1:30 p.m., a
half hour before the scheduled event, only 18 people
had arrived; that number would increase to about
100 before they left the park and other supporters
then joined them as they marched through down-
town.
. “I’m a little bit worried about the hate, and peo-
ple threatening,” said Shelton resident Gwendolyn
Burlette. “That’s scary. But that makes me want to
be here.”
Burlette added, “We’re not here to harm, or dam-
age any businesses I hope they’re there to sup—
port their cause, like we are.” '
Sheltonresident Katherine Price said she was
inspired to attend after hearing George Floyd call
out for his mother while a Minneapolis police officer
was killing him. She wasn’t sure whether the group
would leave the park to march.
“We’ve got rednecks all around us,” Price said. “I
think it would be too proVocative.”
The Black Lives Matter demonstrators left Post
Office Park heading north, away from the other
demonstration. But the Back the Blue demonstra-
tors followed them, many waving American flags.
Unlike the Black Lives Matter demonstrators, most
of them did not wear face masks. They shouted, “Go
back to Seattle!” and “Get a job!” .
Black Lives Matter organizers used megaphones
to instruct the marchers. '
“Do not engage!”
“Do not engage with racists!”
“Stay together, stay cool!” ”
They chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist
USA!”
see PROTEST, page A-11
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Four school diStricts
avoid layoffs '
Page A—2
Page A—27
Count is on: Summer chum
return to Union River
Allyn baseball player
shines on big stage
Page A-38
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