Rockland County Exec Prepares For Violence

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Anarchists are talking on social media about violent protests in Rockland County and will be met with force, County Executive Ed Day said Sunday on Facebook.

One of the posts the Rockland County Executive was referring to was a Facebook account sharing a post from a Twitter account called "@Antifa_US" which apparently was created and suspended on Sunday, but not before it had been widely shared.

(Editor's Note: The tweet cited by the Rockland County Executive was disinformation spread by a white nationalist group called Identity Evropa, according to news reports.)

The fake account is reminiscent of 2017, when numerous media outlets reported a wave of fake "antifa" social media accounts spreading misinformation.

"This is part of a coordinated campaign to create fake accounts in an attempt to troll and discredit anti-fascist activists," BuzzFeed reported at the time, showing the origins of a spate of fake accounts which purported to show Memorial Day desecration of graves.

Over the weekend, the Rockland County Executive was also concerned about a social media alert that was posted on a Facebook account called Rockland County Clown Hunters, which did not cite its source.

The county executive said anyone coming to Rockland County for violent protests would be met with "extreme prejudice."

"Extreme prejudice" is generally used to mean aggressive lethal force. The term "terminate with extreme prejudice" was popularized by the movie "Apocalypse Now" and also lent itself to the title of another movie, "Extreme Prejudice."

In a comment on his Facebook post, Day said, "That phrase simply means dispatched with directly and promptly."

(Editor's Note: He subsequently removed the phrase.)

On Saturday, Day had issued a different kind of statement:

We have collectively, once again, borne witness to a heartbreaking event. As a 20-plus year member of law enforcement who has had command responsibility, I can find no rationale at all for the type of force that was used and for the length of time it was deployed. What happened in Minneapolis is far beyond what is acceptable. The responsibility for this act lies not only with former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin but with the officers who were with him and allowed this to take place.

As we all struggle to cope with the pain, sadness and outrage generated by this unjust death I would like to reiterate the message shared by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, “that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.”

Peaceful protests, such as the one held today in Nanuet, can and should be held in response, we must all raise our voices and as one say that this is not okay, that more must be done to address these issues, and I thank those locally who are doing so respectfully. The Rockland Commissioner of Human Rights, Constance Frazier, took part in the protest held today in Nanuet.

We would like to remind everyone, residents of this county and people all across our great country, that speedy action is being taken to see that justice is done, despite a preliminary Medical Examiner’s Report that brings the cause of death into question. We ask that everyone please give the justice system the time necessary to come to a conclusion; continued violence and damage inflicted across our country does not help anyone.

New York police officials have said some of the protesters in NYC over the weekend were organized and came with plans for violence. A Hudson Valley woman accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a police van during a riot in Brooklyn faces federal charges. SEE: Catskill Woman Accused Of Hurling Molotov Cocktail At NYPD Car.