Views aired at Diamond Park event
Hundreds gathered during a sunny Sunday afternoon in Butler's Diamond Park in the hopes of making their voices heard.
Attendees milled about in patriotic apparel, some featuring the American flag while others appeared in derogatory messaging about President Joe Biden. A few individuals donned tactical equipment and holstered pistols.
“I'm hoping this opens some eyes,” said Tyler Campbell of Cabot.
Campbell said he took a particular interest in the results of the 2020 election, and he believes there should be an audit, a common theme of the event.
“My family is split in half on this,” he said. “I'd like for my family to be on one side.”
There were food trucks, shirt vendors and other activities to spend time with between speakers and lining the street with signs. Many of the signs demanded to know “the truth” about the election.
Zach Scherer of Chicora helped his organization, the Butler PA Patriots, introduce speakers throughout the evening.
Scherer claims there is evidence showing discrepancies in Butler County election results. He said he and his colleagues have spoken at Butler County commissioners meetings, and commissioners have disregarded their requests for an audit of the county's election results.
“There were issues across Butler County,” he said.
There have not been any proven accounts of widespread voter fraud in Pennsylvania.Scherer said even though an audit may not change much in Butler County, which voted heavily in favor of Trump, it may impact some of the local races, and it would set a precedent for other counties wanting similar audits across the state.With traffic flowing full-strength past the downtown location, the messaging received many honks of approval every five seconds or so. Some visitors came from Allegheny County, like Victoria Hall and Cindy Haley, both of Gibsonia.“We need to know there is unity,” Hall said. “We need the strength in numbers.”Both women were particularly concerned with the government's decisions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Haley said she didn't attend the event for former President Donald Trump's sake.
“This has nothing to do with Trump,” Haley said. “It has to do with constitutional rights.”Though topics ranged amidst the speakers, the two heavily favored topics included the audit on the 2020 election results and the mask mandate in schools issued by state Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam.Bill Halle, a school board member for the Butler Area School District, said he and his colleagues have taken a pro-choice approach, but other schools have not.“If the school district is choosing to do that, they are choosing to do that of their own accord,” he said.He encouraged people to get active at school board meetings and run for open positions.There did not appear to be a presence from local police or law enforcement agencies for the event. Most participants largely stayed within the park throughout the rally with brief periods where people lined Main Street with posters and flags.
