Racial Slurs Hurled At Black Lives Matter Protesters In Smithtown

SMITHTOWN, NY — A Black Lives Matter protest in Smithtown Sunday drew counterprotesters, some of whom hurled racial slurs and reportedly attacked a group of young adults as tensions flared on both sides.

One man was caught on video calling a protester a "f------ N-word" and another man was shown calling a protester an "N-word lover." (Warning: linked posts contain graphic language.)

Counterprotesters chanting "USA! USA!" were met by protesters giving them the middle finger and chanting "F--- Donald Trump!"

One man with an American flag said, "No lives matter! We're all f------ slaves! We all are! No lives matter!"

A man who identified himself as Alejandro, a 22-year-old from Long Island, said his friend suffered a gash to the neck after they were attacked by counterprotesters armed with bats and nunchucks.

Alejandro said he went to the Black Lives Matter protest with his girlfriend and three other friends. They left the main protest group for some snacks, Alejandro wrote, when they walked past what he called a "very large group of white supremacists."

Alejandro wrote that his group was hit with bats and his friend's gash was caused by someone who struck him with nunchucks.

"They truly started attacking us with no warning," he wrote. "We had our hands up seeking a conversation and they lured us in just to hurt us."

Warning: graphic

In one video, a counterprotester approached Kyle Hirshon, a protester who says he set up a snack stand outside the Smithtown Performing Arts Center. Hirshon offers the man a snack, which he accepts.

"We don't want to be antagonistic," Hirshon tells him. "We don't wanna do that. That's not our cause."

The man then appears to accost Hirshon before the video cuts out.

Protesters chanted "Black Lives Matter" while holding up signs, according to video taken by News 12 Long Island. Signs read "BLM," "Hold Your Brothers In Blue Accountable," "ACAB," and "SILENCE = VIOLENCE. Black Lives Matter."

One man with a loudspeaker addressed a crowd of fellow protesters.

"Everybody should be able to walk out of their house and be able to do the same thing that everybody else can," he said. "For some people, we face fears that other people cannot feel, because of what's happened to them. But that's wrong. We should be able to our house without fear. We should be able to look at our police officers without feeling fear."

There have been roughly 85 protests across Suffolk since George Floyd's death, Bellone said. They have been peaceful protests "across the board," he said.

"The [Suffolk County Police Department] is out there to protect people who are expressing their right, their Constitutionally-protected right, to demonstrate, to protest and to get their message out," Bellone said. "We are there as a police department to enable them to do that, and to do that in safe way, and to keep people safe. That continues to be the approach."

The protest's organizers were in contact with Fourth Precinct officers before the event, police said.

Another protest is scheduled to be held in Smithtown at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Smithtown Train Station on Redwood Lane, according to a flyer circulating Twitter. The flyer states the protest's intention is peace.

Marches against police brutality have taken place throughout the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd, which four former Minneapolis police officers were charged in connection to. Ex-officer Derek Chauvin faces a second-degree murder charge.

Most the protests on Long Island have been peaceful. Counterprotesters also clashed with protesters in Merrick last week. Some residents yelled "Go west!", urging the protesters to head toward Freeport, which has a diverse population. Merrick is more than 90 percent white.

In West Babylon, a man was arrested after he drove his truck toward a teen protester last week, police said. The teen told police the man had yelled, "White lives matter. You don't belong here. Get out of my neighborhood."

Nearly a dozen protesters were arrested and two police officers were injured over the weekend during demonstrations in Merrick. Officers stopped protesters from marching on the Meadowbrook Parkway, leading to clashes.