Donald Trump Rally On Long Island Near Site of Immigrant Stabbing

PATCHOGUE, NY - A controversial fundraiser headlined by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump set to be held in Patchogue Thursday evening has sparked fierce opposition — but protestors say they have planned peaceful vigils to remember those lost to hate crimes.

Trump is expected to speak in front of about 1,000 people at a $150-a-head Suffolk GOP fundraiser, which begins at 5 p.m.

Those incensed by the fundraiser, to be held at The Emporium on Railroad Avenue, on the same block where Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death in a hate crime on Nov. 8, 2008, say the location is disrespectful.

• Patch will have live coverage from the fundraiser beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday. Sign up here for breaking news alerts from Patch.

But rather than engage in protest, a "Candlelight Vigil for Unity and Peace" will be held on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 95 Railroad Avenue, at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Sephton Street.

The vigil is mean to remember Lucero, as well as other victims of hate crimes.

After the first vigil, many will head to a second, the “Make America LOVE Again” Rally at 89 North located at 89 North Ocean Avenue in Patchogue.

"We will be standing in support of the culture of peace and hope that the Lucero family has called for since Marcelo’s death. This is not a protest. It is a united presence for peace, tolerance and understanding among people of, but not limited to, all races, cultures, religions, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status and ability," a Facebook announcement of the event says.

Those who attend are asked to bring candles but no signs.

Marcelo Lucero's brother: Trump "should be ashamed."

Joselo Lucero, Marcelo's brother, now spends his days speaking about peace as outreach coordinator for the Roslyn-based Hagedorn Foundation, which promotes social equality across Long Island.

Lucero said Thursday's vigil is meant to be a peaceful event. He is, however, outraged by Trump. "Mr. Trump is using political rhetoric against minorities and I don't think it's the right thing to do."

Although much has been said about how much the community has changed in the years since his brother's murder, Lucero said Thursday will prove enlightening.

"We want to see how much people understand about the gravity of the situation," he said.

Holding the event in Patchogue, where the immigrant community comprises approximately 30 percent of the population, was a poor idea, he said.

"It's totally disrespectful," Lucero said.

Reports that the community had been notified in advance of the event are simply "not true," Lucero said. "It's a lie," he said. "I never had anyone call or say anything," something that would have been appreciated, so he would have been informed, he said.

"This is an insult to my family, to my brother, to all the people being abused."

The event, he said, is "dangerous" to a community that has "suffered so much discrimination."

For Trump to hold an event in Patchogue, so close to where his brother died, is "disrespectful. Maybe he's not being informed about what happened. But he should be more aware about where he's going to speak," Lucero said.

After his brother was stabbed and died, Lucero said his mother suffered terribly until her death last year. "She never recuperated," he said.

Trump's appearance could well stir up heated emotions in a community just struggling to survive. "We're not thieves here, not drug dealers," he said. "We're regular people looking to have a better life. And yet, one of the best in my family ended up dead. Why?"

His brother, Lucero said, worked hard to provide. But he died, he said, "because he was different." Everyone, whether black, white, immigrant, or overweight, Lucero said, deserves respect and to live with dignity.

"Hate speeches lead to terrible crimes and Mr. Trump has to understand that," Lucero said. "So many people around the world are fighting for human rights, and in our backyard, we have so many abuses against minorities. And he's contributing to these incidents."

Trump, he said, "should be concerned about showing up in Patchogue and taking money from people who support him to continue these hate speeches around the country. He should feel ashamed."

"We will fight hate with peace."

VIgil organizer Lisa Votino-Tarrant, of Southampton, said she became involved because when Lucero was murdered, she's been working with an organization to raise awareness about immigration to "average" Long Island residents.

"When Marcelo was murdered, I felt I had failed. His death changed me. I watched his brother Joselo having to grieve the loss of his brother so publicly. I vowed not to let him go through all this alone."

The pair became friends, and a group attended the trial and sentencings with Lucero. She's part of the group that plans a yearly vigil at the site of the murder, "where Marcelo took his last breaths," she said.

"Joselo is my hero. He took one of the worst tragedies that could happen to a family and turned it into something positive."

Children learn about tolerance and acceptance from Lucero, she said.

"That's why when I heard Donald Trump would be speaking and spewing his intolerance of marginalized people less than a quarter mile from this sacred ground, I knew we had to do something," Votino-Tarrant said.

Trump stands for is everything that Lucero has tried to overcome since the murder of his brother, she said.

"It is also a horrible blow to the people of Patchogue who lived through this seven and half years ago and have done so much to build a better community. It isn't perfect, but they have come such a long way," she said.

Votino-Tarrant said it's important to note that before Lucero was murdered in a hate crime by young men "who made a sport of 'beaner hopping,' many believe former County Executive Steve Levy "had become a poster child for anti-immigrant rhetoric. You can clearly see Mr. Trump doing the same now and that is what makes all of this so upsetting and unsettling."

A pledge for peaceful protests

John Jay LaValle, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, said the group had been notified of scheduled demonstrations Thursday.

"While we may have different political views than these demonstrators, please do not engage these individuals with any words or actions that would be construed as hostile," he said. The First Amendment protects Americans' right to peacefully assemble and we should do our part to promote mutual respect."

Others weighed in on the decision to hold the fundraiser in Patchogue.

Democrat DuWayne Gregory, presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature, said the Suffolk County Republican Committee inviting Trump to speak at a venue only yards from where Lucero was killed by teens who were "beaner bashing" was a mistake.

The crime, he said, "was one of the lowest points in the sorry history of race relations on Long Island. And now the Republican Party is bringing the stridently anti-immigration Mr. Trump to desecrate that ground."

LaValle said the fundraiser was planned more than two months ago and he has resisted calls to move the location of the event, which comes five days before New York's presidential primary.

In a statement, LaValle said: "While we offer the greatest empathy possible to the family of Marcelo Lucero, who was brutally murdered by a group of teens in 2008, we can’t help but to be suspicious of the motives of those leading the charge to connect that vicious hate crime with Mr. Trump’s commitment to enforcement of immigration laws that have gone largely ignored by both parties, for 30 years."

Of the peaceful vigils, Gregory said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini has assured that the police department will work to keep everyone safe.

"So if you wish to protest you can be confident that you can do so peacefully," Gregory said.

Several roads in the area are closed Thursday.