Pro-Trump Rallies Again Coming To Middletown's Bodman Park

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown's Bodman Park — located less than a mile away from Gov. Phil Murphy's private home — continues to be the site for political gatherings for President Trump supporters, and those angry about New Jersey's COVID lockdowns.

This Saturday, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. there will be a pro-Trump rally in Bodman, organized by Middletown resident Frank Cott, a member of the group Monmouth County True Patriots.

Cott said he has a permit to hold the rally, but also said he's been getting calls this week from Middletown police "worried that we'll have too many people."

Cott said the rally is to organize volunteers who want to travel to swing states, like Bucks County, PA, to campaign for Trump — "New Jersey is a waste unless you help our Congressional seats" — and also to protest the required mail-in voting this November.

"We the people are constantly getting hammered," said Cott, 47. "This is a rally for Trump supporters. We've got Democrats who are Trump supporters; we're not going to get anywhere with country club Republicans. We're not going to get anywhere without normal Democrats, as I call them, the ones who realize their party has changed."

"We're meeting because we're concerned about the tyranny of governors in the lockdowns," he said. "There is a legit reason to be concerned about the pandemic, but people are losing their homes and their businesses because the government used these draconian methods. Gov. Murphy, like other misguided governors, is using COVID-19 as an excuse to create policies and executive orders that unlawfully attack our freedoms."

"On mail-in voting, we are hearing that people are getting mailed ballots who don't live in that house," he continued. "I'm only doing Bodman Park because we've done rallies here in the past and it's next to Murphy's house. My goal is not to go to Murphy's house, although some people want to do it."

Next Sunday, Sept. 27 another pro-Trump rally is planned to take place in Bodman Park, said organizer Carol Love, a South Jersey resident.

Love is part of a team of women, called Demand Against NJ GOVERNOR Murphy, who organized this pro-Trump rally in Bodman Park on Aug. 30, which police estimate a couple hundred people attended. From there the group marched to Murphy's driveway on nearby Navesink River Road, where they held signs.

"What the governor is doing is unacceptable and illegal," said Love. "He is taking our rights away from us. I want to bring us together. A lot of businesses that have been around for a long time have permanently closed. It's so sad. I can't sit back and watch this happen."

Confirmed speakers for the Sept. 27 rally in Bodman Park are U.S. Senate candidate Rik Mehta, Old Bridge Councilman Mark Razzoli, running against Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, Jennifer Zinone, a Congress candidate for New Jersey's 10th District and state Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger. All are Republican.

"We are just sick and tired of him taking away our rights," said Love of Murphy. "It's crazy what he's doing. We want New Jersey back; we want everyone opened back up; we want to vote by machine and we want to have kids entirely back in school. And I think mandating flu shots for kids is terrible. People are waking up."

When asked why Trump hasn't done more to intervene in the lockdowns, Love said, "He doesn't really have that much control of the governors. The president is doing what he can, and fighting the governor."

Related: Middletown Mayor: All 19 Polling Locations Will Be Open On Nov. 3

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