Rehoboth Deals with More Protesters!
A protest that supposedly got canceled at one point still drew about 90 participants Monday evening to downtown Rehoboth Beach. The organizer reportedly canceled the event after rumors circulated on social media suggesting that after the protest they would loot and burn the Outlet stores.
The protesters — predominantly white folks — chanted and marched on the bandstand, around the bandstand, and around the bandstand horseshoe.
The protest was well monitored by police who watched from a distance and from strategic locations with reinforcements staged for a rapid response.
Some folks appeared to be completely oblivious that a man armed with an AR-15 and a 9 m.m. handgun stood guard outside the Purple Parrot.
He said he was friends of friends of the owner and volunteered to help protect the establishment.
The Outlet stores closed at 4 p.m. and several shops in town closed early. The Quiet Storm Surf Shop even boarded its windows.
The protesters eventually left the bandstand and arrived at city hall around 7:25 p.m. where they continued their chats.
This was right in front of the police department and they protested here for about 30 minutes before eventually dispersing into smaller groups.
Back out on Coastal Highway, state troopers guarded the Outlet stores. Their patrol vehicles with activated strobe lights blocked the entrances and parked about every 100 feet across the front of the Outlets.
One of the most popular photo-ops of the evening was the horse-mounted troopers who stood guard outside the Banana Republic.
WGMD is not aware of any arrests, injuries, or other significant incidents but we have not received the official word from the police.
