Front Royal Unites walk slated for Wednesday, traffic woes likely

Local activist group Front Royal Unites has scheduled a walk on Wednesday, Oct. 14, along the sidewalks of the south Shenandoah River bridge near the intersection of U.S. Routes 340 and 55.

According to a Facebook post for the group, the “George Floyd Birthday” celebration will be a memorial to the Minneapolis, MN black man who died May 25 after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer. The encounter was captured by bystanders and quickly went viral, inciting large protests in Minneapolis and a number of other American cities.

Delays can be expected from 340/Country Club Drive (at Walmart entrance) southbound across the bridge over the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at Strasburg Road, leading into the Town of Front Royal. Royal Examiner photo.

Those participating in the walk are asked to meet at 5:15 PM at the Greater Joy Baptist Church parking lot, 45 E. Strasburg Road. Participants will form a line and begin the walk at 5:30. The Facebook post states that “This will be a peaceful family event that includes a celebration of life and a walk across” the south Shenandoah River bridge.

Placards with Floyd’s face will be carried by the walkers; organizers wrote in the post that “we’ll have an eight-minute and 46-second moment of silence with all the placards being held high.”

Royal Examiner reached out to the administrators of the Front Royal Unites Facebook page, who provided an email address and asked that any questions about the event be submitted to them. However, no one responded to those questions, nor was a press release regarding the event provided.

According to local police, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) owns the bridge and considered the group’s request to shut down the structure—during the evening rush hour—before ultimately declining to issue a permit. A VDOT spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Though VDOT refused to shut down the bridge, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department (WCSO), which has jurisdiction of the structure, plans to have the two outer lanes of the bridge shut down for safety, allowing rush-hour traffic to continue.

WCSO spokesman Maj. Jeff Driskill said in an interview that event organizers had been instructed to have walk participants use the pedestrian sidewalk, for the safety of walkers and motorists. Anyone who walks in the roadway could be subject to citation.

Sheriff Mark Butler stated Tuesday morning that both WCSO deputies and Front Royal Police Department officers would be “working hand-in-hand jointly to ensure the safety and constitutional First Amendment right to free speech” for those participating.

Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairman Walt Mabe stated in a telephone interview Tuesday, “Free speech is a First Amendment right. When it becomes their right, it is our responsibility”, referring to the local government’s duty to provide public safety at gatherings such as the Floyd Birthday celebration.

Mabe further stated that it is important to him to hear the viewpoints of everyone, but also to provide safety to the citizens of the community.

While citizens can rest assured there will be a police presence to ensure the safety of all, it does not come cheap. Additional officers are placed into service, which means overtime costs. Additionally, there are untold hours of planning and preparation by administrative employees, who are exempt from overtime pay.

Royal Examiner reached out to both the WCSO and the FRPD regarding the costs associated with the three Front Royal Unites events organized by Samuel Porter, who is also a write-in Front Royal mayoral candidate in the November election.

WCSO Major Driskill wrote in an email, “The Sheriff’s Office alone has accrued $15,631.52 in overtime costs for the first two FRU events in June 2020. This consisted of $11,178.38 for the event on June 5, 2020, and $4,453.14 for the June 20, 2020, event. These costs do not include pre-planning hours, nor exempt staff hours which was considerable. These costs also do not include manpower costs of supporting agencies such as the Virginia State Police, Front Royal Police Department, Warren County Fire & Rescue Services, and Town and County Public Works. The projected cost for the upcoming October 14, 2020, Front Royal Unites protest on George Floyd’s birthday is currently at $10,707.78.”

FRPD spokesperson Captain Crystal Cline stated in an email Tuesday that costs for the June 5, 2020, event, strictly for overtime, were $4709.59, for 122 hours. The June 20 event cost $3972.06 for 100.5 hours of overtime. Cline wrote, “We will not have any information on what tomorrow’s event will be until after the event, we cannot speculate.”

It is not known how many participants will show up for Wednesday’s event; a June 5 event at Bing Crosby Stadium in Front Royal drew over 1,000 participants. A second event, a June 20 walk that began at the former Warren County High School that was closed in 1958 as part of a “massive resistance” effort against integration, produced a large number of peaceful protestors as well.

A media release issued by FRU late Tuesday afternoon announced an Oct. 18 panel discussion at Bing Crosby Station. Local historians and activists will tackle the question “Does Front Royal’s Confederate statue represent our Southern heritage or our dark history of oppression?”

The release states speakers include James M. Gillispie, Dean of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences at Lord Fairfax Community College; Samuel Porter, President of Front Royal Unites (FRU); and Gene Bétit, historian and author of Collective Amnesia: American Apartheid — African Americans’ 400 Years in North America, 1619-2019.

The event is an extension of FRU’s campaign to urge Warren County supervisors to remove and relocate the town’s Confederate monument. Over 2,500 petition signatures have been gathered by group members.

Warren County BOS Chairman Walt Mabe stated in an interview Tuesday morning that he would attend the Sunday event, which will begin at 4:00 PM at Bing Crosby’s Pavilion 1. FRU organizers plan to live stream the panel event as well.

“It is important to hear all sides…to hear what everyone has to say regarding this issue, Mabe said.

After being overwhelmed by concerned citizens at previous meetings, the Warren County BOS in August put the issue of the statue’s removal up for referendum, stating an intent to host a public forum for debate. So far, no event has been announced.

At the October 6 BOS meeting, FRU member Laura Lee Cascada urged the supervisors to attend, stating, “Today we need to take action and not wait around for the majority to come around on issues of justice. If we did that, women would not have the right to vote; slaves would still be enslaved.”

The statue is a generic depiction of a Confederate soldier with a plaque bearing the names of 600 locals who fought for the Confederacy. The monument was erected at the Warren County Courthouse in 1911.

On Nov. 3, Warren County voters will be asked to weigh in on the fate of the statue. The ballot question will read: “Should the confederate monument located on the Warren County Courthouse lawn be relocated?”

The referendum is non-binding, which means that the Board would not have to abide by the vote’s outcome.

A press release Tuesday evening from the WCSO stated that there will potentially be traffic delays from approximately 5:00 PM –7:00 PM.

Major Jeff Driskill wrote that delays can be expected from 340/Country Club Drive (at Walmart entrance) southbound across the bridge over the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at Strasburg Road, leading into the Town of Front Royal.

Driskill stated, “Motorists are asked to exhibit caution in the area of the bridge due to pedestrians crossing at crosswalks as part of an event. Law enforcement will be assisting in traffic control there. Alternate routes of travel are encouraged during this time period.”