March for Peace – St. Louis – 8-29-20
Yesterday, St. Louis Police Sergeant Ann Marie Dorn, widow of retired Captain David Dorn, who was gunned down earlier this summer during looting and rioting in downtown St. Louis, hosted a “March for Peace” in downtown St. Louis.
As we’ve reported previously, David Dorn was brutally murdered on June 2, 2020, after going to check out an alarm at Lee’s Pawn Shop, a business owned by a friend for whom he often provided security.
Ann Dorn gave a powerful presentation during the Republican National Convention. She and two of Captain Dorn’s sons were in attendance on the last night of the convention for President Trump’s acceptance speech.
The March for Peace yesterday started out with a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and a prayer from the St. Louis County Police Chaplain, and ended with a stirring speech from Ann Dorn. It began outside police headquarters and wound its way through downtown St. Louis, ending near the memorial for fallen officers outside the St. Louis City Courthouse.
Over one hundred people attended the march (including myself and my sweetheart). Below are some photographs from the event:
— Susie Moore (@SmoosieQ) August 30, 2020
While Ann Dorn was accompanied by Captain Dorn’s sons, his daughters have disagreed with what they perceive as the use of their father’s death as a political prop. They attended the march, as well, and had signs expressing their concerns.
While I fully support Dorn’s daughters’ right to share their concerns and express their own views, I want to make something exceedingly clear: Yesterday’s event was not a Trump rally. I didn’t observe a single Trump shirt or sign — not even a MAGA hat — among the crowd, nor was he mentioned throughout the event, other than when Ann’s speech from the RNC was replayed on the video truck toward the end of the ceremony.
The signs and t-shirts yesterday were all about support for Captain Dorn and for his and Ann Dorn’s fellow police officers. And though Dorn’s daughters criticized a lack of diversity among the crowd, there were most certainly White and Black participants in the event, including family members of police officers.
I also want to be clear about something else: Though they attended and held up their signs in protest, Dorn’s daughters marched alongside the rest of us and there was no shouting or confrontation between those of differing views. People hurting from their personal loss and holding divergent political views were still able to march, express their views, and do so peacefully and civilly.
When Ann Dorn was asked about the daughters’ opposition by KSDK, here is what she had to say:
I don’t want to air any family problems that we might have, I’m not sure what their issues are so I’m not going to speak on that at this time. I just know what my message is and my message has been about peace. One political party did give me a national platform to speak on … and I took that.
She was all class. And she’s a reminder of the heartache caused by senseless violence and the need for all of us to work toward peaceful solutions. Below is a video of her remarks at the end of the march.
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