Experience of Anti-Kings Demonstrator in Nanuet

On Saturday, October 19, 2025 during the third “No Kings” demonstration, my right to safely demonstrate was not enforced by the Clarkstown Police. The anti-Trump Demonstrations of this past weekend were the largest so far as these massive demonstrations keep growing. 

I thought my right to safely counter demonstrate had been secured based upon the previous two “No Kings” demonstrations and my public comments during the Town Board meeting after the first one. This is because for the second demonstration there was a two-barrier length visible counter demonstration pen created on the south-east corner adjacent to New York State Route 59 at the intersection of Middletown Road where the Veteran’s Park is. There was a police officer assigned who stood the entire time while doing a good job pro-actively preserving the peace.  

Once again, I showed up at 11:45 am before the demonstration started with my “Trump or Bust and America is Back” signs to show my support for the policies of President Trump. From Clarkstown Police management on the scene I requested a visible and secure counter demonstration area on the scene and the Sergeant on the scene said he could not do this because it would block the sidewalk. I pointed out there was an alternate adjacent sidewalk through Veterans Park, and for the previous demonstration a counter-demonstration pen had been established, and that setting up such pens and creating pedestrian detours had been common practice during my twenty years serving as a member of the New York City Police Department with many tours spent policing demonstrations.  In every instance the focus was upon providing a safe environment so demonstrators on both sides of an issue could do so in a peaceful nonviolent manner. I also requested a uniformed Police Officer be in the immediate presence to ensure peace and prevent any emotionally disturbed persons from becoming emboldened to start confrontations. This did not occur from this detail of at least ten police officers. I will admit the anti-Trump demonstrators were cordial and respected my right to demonstrate. However, this expectation of my commingling from the Clarkstown Police management with the anti-Trump demonstrators meant I was constantly being crowded while trying to make my signs visible at the barrier while other demonstrators too often tried to block my sign with their signs. Some demonstrators did spray their mouth germs at me during their anti-Trump rants and baited questions that I could not realistically respond to because one argument would turn into a mass argument against all not knowing who would be triggered to get physical over my responses.

“Trump is a pedophile, would you let him baby sit your grandkids?”, “ICE should be abolished!” and etcetera. This harassment went on and on throughout the two hour demonstration while the protection I had provided for the public for twenty years on the NYPD was not occurring for me.  I had no choice but to ignore these people. Say it don’t spray it! If a physical incident did occur the only police response would be from an overlooking hill one hundred yards away on the other side of eight lanes of Saturday state highway traffic or from parked police cars: not a proper presence. 

This is how Clarkstown, whose town board is four fifths Republican, treated a senior citizen Vietnam War Era veteran of the United State Marine Corps who wants to utilize his constitutional rights to counter demonstrate at an anti- Trump Demonstration.   After the first “No Kings” demonstration I thought the Clarkstown police had developed a standard operating procedure to allow counter demonstrators to safely exercise their civil rights without fear that one emotionally disturbed person would have the opportunity to start a confrontation, guess not.

Matthew I. Brennan 

New City

  anti-kings, police, Rockland, trump