An Army veteran and local activist is planning on moving out of the Dutchess County neighborhood he's called home for more than a decade after he says agitators interrupted a peaceful protest he helped organize.

“I don't feel safe. My mother doesn't feel safe. We no longer feel safe in this community after we saw the look on those people's faces and the hate in their eyes,” says Royal Parker, who is the founder of the organization "Until We're All Free."

What You Need To Know

  • Royal Parker says he and his mother no longer feel safe after they say they saw hate from community members

  • A July 18 march for Black lives encountered a counter-protest that Parker said included hatred and bigotry

  • Parker says he was told that police would be there to protect the marchers, but claims this did not happen

Parker organized a peaceful rally and march for Black lives through Pleasant Valley on July 18. But Parker says once word got out about his event, a counter-protest was promoted by the Dutchess County Conservative Party.

An event that Parker wanted to remain peaceful ended up being anything but.

“I was met with hatred, bigotry of all types of sorts, mostly racism. People were saying the N word,” Parker says. “Telling us to go home and get out of their town, and that we're not welcome here.

“I was also confronted with physical violence as well. You know, there was a lot of people spitting, punching, pushing, as well as spewing the hatred.”

Parker said he worked with the local police and elected officials to make sure everything needed to hold and secure the march was done, but to his surprise, he says, that security wasn’t provided.

“I was told that we would be surrounded by heavy police protection, both seen and unseen, and on the ground," says Parker. "They didn't really have a plan of action. I don't think they really thought what happened would have happened. They underestimated the Dutchess County Conservative Party, even though we let them know the severity of the threats and how we felt, and why we needed them to be there to help us be protected.”

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department and Dutchess County Conservative Party did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment.

“Dutchess County Sheriff's Department did not keep us protected. So I'm looking to relocate in an area where the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department is not the first one to respond,” says Parker.