Pro-Trump boat parade to be held at Lake Hopatcong; protesters expected

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a pro-President Donald Trump boat parade at Lake Hopatcong this weekend – and a protest is also expected to take place.

News 12 Staff

Jun 26, 2020, 2:25 AM

Updated 1,644 days ago

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Hundreds of people are expected to attend a pro-President Donald Trump boat parade at Lake Hopatcong this weekend – and a protest is also expected to take place.
“Those who want to be on land and those who want to be on boats, we’re all going to be there. We’re all going to have banners, signs,” says protest organizer V. Matthew Steinbaum.
Steinbaum of Hopatcong, says that he has been planning the protest with his brother ever since he heard about the boat parade taking place.
“We were like, ‘Well, that’s pretty problematic.’ We don’t agree with that, we’re going to make a protest,” he says.
Steinbaum says that their message is, “No hate on Our Lake.”
“I’m not going to say all Trump supporters are hateful people, but to support Donald Trump in himself is to support hatred, is to support that message of hatred, that message of divisiveness,” he says.
The boat parade is organized by the Sussex County Republican Committee. Sussex County GOP Chair Jerry Scanlan tells News 12 New Jersey that they have a permit to carry out the parade and that it has nothing to do with hate.
He says of the protesters, “I don’t know who they thought was hateful on the lake in the first place…Freedom exists and there’s freedom for them too. They’re welcome to express their opinions in any way they want.”
Sussex GOP also posted a map of their intended route and safety plan on the event page. Scanlan says that the parade is a chance to support the president. But for Steinbaum and his fellow protesters, it will be a chance to have their voices heard.
“We have a message and we’re going to be sharing that message and we’re going to be going against what we’re seeing,” he says.
The parade will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. President Trump is expected to be in New Jersey this weekend as well, at his Bedminster golf club.