Protest Against Montco Commissioner Gale Organized Thursday

NORRISTOWN, PA — Demonstrators will gather at the Montgomery County Courthouse steps in Norristown on Thursday to protest Commissioner Gale's recent remarks about race and protests. The comments, shared in a letter from Gale earlier this week, have led to widespread condemnation from local leaders and a petition demanding his resignation was signed by 74,000 as of late Wednesday.

The protest, which organizers say will be peaceful, is slated for 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday. Protesters are urged to wear masks and maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"Joseph Gale has sown the seeds of Hate in Montgomery County," event organizers said. "Now Gale is spinning hateful, racist rhetoric, like this quote (regarding Black Lives Matter) from less than 24 hours ago referring to the Philly protests. Join us at the Commissioner's meeting to tell Joseph Gale he does not speak for us."

In Gale's comment referenced above, he called Black Lives Matter a domestic terror organization, and said they "scream racism not to expose bigotry and injustice, but to justify the lawless destruction of our cities and surrounding communities. Their objective is to unleash chaos and mayhem without consequence by falsely claiming they, in fact, are the victims."

>>Backlash Over Montco Commissioner's Comments On Protests

The protest is also to demand the reinstating of fired Montgomery County's former top public defenders, Keisha Hudson and Dean Beer. Organizers tie that incident in closely with the deeper systemic issues of race, and they blame the county's Democratic leadership, too.

>>Firing Of Montco Public Defenders 'Is A Travesty', Philly DA Says

"(Gale), Val Arkoosh, and Ken Lawrence fired the top two Montco Public Defenders, Keisha Hudson and Dean Beer, for exposing racist policing and unconstitutional bail practices in Montco," the event description reads. "This was a direct assault on Montco's poorest black and brown residents."

The office's leaders, Dean Beer and Keisha Hudson, were replaced shortly after the office filed an amicus brief arguing against the county's practice of holding bail hearings without lawyers of the accused present, and citing "systemic failures" in the existing system.The pair were vocal advocates for bail reform. The ACLU and Philadelphia District Attorney Jerry Krasner called for their reinstatement at the time.

The event is being organized by the Montgomery County Participatory Defense Hub, ACLU of PA, Decarcerate PA, Cheltenham NAACP, Temple Law NLG, and the Amistad Law Project.

>>9 Montco Mayors Sign Letter Condemning Commissioner Joe Gale

The Norristown Municipal Council has called for Gale's resignation. Nine Montgomery County mayors have signed a letter condemning his words including Royersford's Jenna Antoniewicz, Conshohocken's Yaniv Aronson, Narberth's Andrea Deutsch, Hatboro's Nancy Guenst, Pottstown's Stephanie Henrick, Lansdale's Garry Herbert, Ambler's Jeanne Sorg, West Conshohocken's Gregory Wesley-Lynch, and Collegeville's Aidsand Wright-Riggins.