HONESDALE BOROUGH, PA — Standing on Honesdale's Irving Cliff in the late afternoon of Monday, September 28, with the whole of the borough laid out in the valley before them, six protesters bent their heads in prayer. 

They had gathered to demonstrate for the re-lighting of the cross on Irving Cliff, a practice that, historically, took place surrounding Easter. The cross was last lit in 2018, following a challenge to the legality of a religious display on public property. 

Protesters ultimately grew their numbers by a few, driving down the cliff and making their way on foot from the borough's central park to the evening's borough council meeting. There, they met a competing handful of counter-protesters, and a meeting room filled with public comment on the merits of the case. 

Those advocating for the cross see it as a sign of Honesdale's heritage; those opposed to their efforts expressed concern about favoring the symbol of one religion over others'. Concerns also arose about the inflaming of the situation through online rhetoric, including with the rumored participation of right-wing provocateur Jake Lang.

The cross can still be seen in the center of the star on Honesdale's Irving Cliff.

A cross, a star

Honesdale historically lit a star on Irving Cliff at Christmas time, and a cross at Easter, with both light displays sharing space on the same metal structure overlooking the borough. 

In 2018, the borough received a letter from the nonprofit organization the Freedom from Religion Foundation threatening legal action if the star and cross were not removed. The organization holds that religious symbols have no place on public property. 

The borough has since lit the star during the winter holidays, but has not returned to lighting the cross, with 2018 being the last year the cross shone. 

Dene Hayes, the moderator of the Wayne County Problems and Solutions Facebook page, organized Monday's March for the Cross. When asked by the River Reporter to explain the reasoning behind pushing for the cross' restoration, Hayes emphasized the cross' history and its place in the borough's heritage.

"Back when they put this up, it was in the year 1956," he said. "That was when 'In God We Trust' was put on the dollar bill to fight against communism."

"When this was put up, back when they only had Bibles, radios and light bulbs, this brought people from all across the state of Pennsylvania, and even New York, just for people to come check this out," he said. 

Protesters carried signs, including one reading, "Keep your dirty commie hands off our cross." Another had an AI-seeming depiction of a crusader stomping on a serpent's head, above the words, "Jesus Christ is King of Honesdale, Pennsylvania."

Mike Parenti, another protester, was involved in pushing back against the cross not being lit during the discussions in 2018. He told the River Reporter, "Honesdale now, compared to what it was when I was a kid, has completely changed—in a good way. There's every kind of race, religion—everything's represented in this town."

Still, he said, it's important that the cross be returned, for him and for his faith. 

"God has been every part of my walk, and I feel like if I'm not going to stand up for God, why would God stand up for me?" he said. 

"If you're a Christian, I believe it's your duty to stand up for Christ," he said. "And I do see removing the cross as—[well], you can never remove Christ, I mean, he's here, he's with us—but they're trying to erase [Him] from hearts, and I don't appreciate that at all."

During the evening's borough council meeting, Parenti added that nobody rallying for the cross is against “other people putting their symbols on a cliff to represent other things or whatever.”

Alden Buchanan, who attended the meeting in support of restoring the cross, told the River Reporter that if other symbols be installed, a discussion would need to be held because “there’s other symbols that don’t mean well.”

When asked what symbols didn’t mean well, Buchanan said that he wasn’t sure, and that he felt like the cross symbol was “neutral.”

Counterprotestor and owner of the Bodhi Tree art studio Heather Hogan-Spencer told the River Reporter that she felt the cross was not neutral, as many have experienced religious trauma before.

“If we’re going to put up a cross, let’s put up a star of David,” counterprotestor Serenity Polacco said. “You can’t involve one major religion and not have others.”

Polacco said during the Monday meeting that she appreciates the diversity Honesdale has. 

“[In Honesdale], I’ve had opportunities to talk with people literally from all over the world. Just this summer, I interacted with people from Europe, from South America, which was just really interesting,” she said. “I love the fact that we have our synagogue, and we have places for Buddhists and Hindu practitioners to go.” 

Dene Hayes, the moderator of the Wayne County Problems and Solutions Facebook page, organized the march.

The march included a variety of signs drawing the connection between Honesale and religion.

The March for the Cross included a wooden cross, driven up and down the road leading to Irving Cliff.

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Jake Lang

Tensions around the march rose in part due to social media rumors that right-wing provocateur Jake Lang would attend. Lang, a native of the Upper Delaware River Valley, spent time under arrest for charges including assaulting law enforcement with a deadly weapon and engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds, charges related to actions he took during the riots on January 6, 2021. Lang has since grown his own presence on social media through a series of political actions including an anti-Islamic march in Dearborn, Michigan in November 2025 and another around 9/11 demonstrations in New York City earlier this year. Lang's demonstrations have often attracted violence, with two ISIS-inspired men attempting to detonate improvised explosives at a rally he held outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home in March. 

Lang posted on his social media on September 21 an AI-seeming poster saying the March to the Star would be led by Jake Lang and Dene Hayes, followed by Crusaders and NEPA Red Wave. 

Hayes told the River Reporter that Lang "reached out to me because of my platform; he wanted to support and be behind it." Hayes said he did not initially oppose Lang coming; however, after significant pushback, he disavowed Lang, posting that Lang would not be in attendance. 

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"I told him that—I published [on social media] that—I don't think it's a good idea [for Lang to attend], and I don't support everything that he does," he said. 

Counterprotest organizer Amanda DeMasi said she did not credit Hayes' disaffiliation from Lang. The signs Hayes used on his march were sent by Lang, DeMasi said. "So if he denounced Jake Lang, why would he continue to use the signs that were supported by him?"

"I highly doubt that they are disconnected from one another, as they both run within the same social media circles," she said. 

DeMasi also said that the counterprotest was organized at the Honesdale Borough council building to “make them [the protestors] go through the proper channels of submitting to be on the agenda.”

Honesdale Police Department Sgt. Keith Colombo told the River Reporter the organizers of the march had not coordinated with the department: "This is all word of mouth."

Hayes was initially supposed to bring a "very outspoken individual" with him, Colombo said, who (in his opinion) would only "throw the dynamite and then run."

Colombo said the police presence—which included multiple law enforcement units and ambulances—was present because of the possibility of Lang's presence. 

Counterprotestor Alex DeVireze said that he was “really afraid it was going to get violent” if Lang were to come, based on things he heard and had seen from social media.

Honesdale Mayor Derek Williams echoed DeVireze’s sentiments, stating that it stressed him out to see certain patterns of “people riling each other up online, postering to gain followers, engaging in conflict and division.”

Williams added that inviting certain individuals to visit Honesdale and writing incorrect addresses on seemingly AI-created posters also instilled fear in him and some residents.

Connor Simon, a Honesdale Borough resident who said he’s lived there all his life, said during the meeting that some individuals in the community were there to “prey on that division” and expressed gratitude to the council for making the borough somewhere he enjoys living.

“We can disagree and still believe in this borough together,” he said.

Williams continued, adding that the activity on social media is a “distraction” and that there is a lot to celebrate about Honesdale such as the local art scene, the tight-knit community in the area, and events like the Outdoor Block Party Movie Night.

“I live on Main Street with my family, and hearing the cars go by when it’s wet is kind of like the ocean waves,” he said. “Beautiful, so beautiful.”