Shunned wherever he goes, sex offender greeted by protests in Lincoln
In the short time that Richard Gardner has been out of prison, he has moved to Providence, then to Cranston and now to a small house off Cobble Hill Road in the Saylesville section of Lincoln.
Soon after nightfall Wednesday, the street filled with more than more 40 protesters, many of them accepting an invitation to move onto the snow-covered lawn of Gardner’s neighbor. They shouted toward the sex offender’s front door a short distance away.
The crowd’s various chants, delivered between blasts from a blaring siren device, included “Gardner’s Gotta Go” and “Get out.”
“Get out of town, you creeper,” yelled John Nunes Jr., a 30-year-old security guard.
“There’s no help for you, you piece of … ” someone yelled.
Earlier Wednesday, Stephen Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, said he had made contact with Lincoln’s solicitor Wednesday and was satisfied that the town stands ready to enforce ordinances to protect the rights of Gardner and also the rights of protesters.
“We obviously disagree with the message,” Brown said, referring to the message of the protest. “We believe Mr. Gardner should have the right to live where he wants and to do so in peace. He served his time. It’s unfortunate to see some of the activity that undermines the whole goal of rehabilitation once someone is released from prison.”
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I have two comments. “We believe Mr. Gardner should have the right to live where he wants and to do so in peace.” Does this mean the ACLU intends to challenge the residency laws as well. Almost sounds like it. Second, there was NO WAY this was an “impromptu” demonstration/protest. If proper permitting wasn’t done for protesting, how about holding the leaders as “inciting a riot” or something like that?