HONESDALE, PA — A group of young Wayne County residents have apologized for their behavior during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 4.

During the peaceful protest which took place in Honesdale's Central Park, several motorists drove around the perimeter flying Confederate, Blue Lives Matter and Make America Great Again Flags and revving their engines in an attempt to drown on speakers' voices.

Photos of these counter-protesters circulated widely throughout Facebook in the following weeks, drawing criticism from many. 

Some of those involved have since released the following letter addressed to the Wayne County community and delivered to the Wayne County Courthouse:

"On Thursday, June 4 is 2020 [sic], there was a lawful, peaceful protest against racism and the murder of George Floyd in Central Park in Honesdale, PA.

"Prior to that day/event, there has been [sic] widespread protests across the country for the same cause. Many of these protests and the righteous cause they were designed for, have been unfortunately, overshadowed by violence and social unrest resulting in property destruction and personal injury to people and law enforcement. This concerned us deeply as we did not want the small closeknit [sic] community we live in to be threatened or damaged in any way.

"Despite our desires to serve our community well, we all acted impulsively and we did not seek and/or adhere to the advice of our elders and parents. We realize now that we acted in a provocative, immature manner that was not consistent in any way with the message we wanted to send. By doing so, we gave our town and community an ugly scar. This has resulted in a social media storm of negativity, lies, exaggerations, threats and problems for each and everyone [sic] of us, our families and our community.

"We are thankful that things did not escalate any further than they did and we wish nobody any harm. In short, we unintentionally gave legitimacy to those who wish to do harm to our community and legitimate protesters, and hope that no such thing comes to fruition.

In conclusion, despite our impulsive decision to involve ourselves in that protest in a negative manner, we all attest to the fact that not one of us are racist, and could, and should have found a more productive way to handle ourselves. The fact is all of us desire to be a productive members [sic] of this community.

We all sincerely apologize to our families, the peaceful protesters and our community for our actions that day."