Eric Puryear of Bettendorf talks to the crowd gathered in the courtyard at LeClaire City Hall in July to protest and peacefully denounce the racist flyers that have been sent to residents in LeClaire by an out-of-state racist group. Puryear said Wednesday he had received a threatening letter in response to his efforts organizing rallies.
Davenport attorney Eric Puryear, who has helped to organize peaceful protests against police brutality in Davenport, said Wednesday that his work must have struck a nerve.
In Wednesday’s mail, Puryear received a threatening letter, warning him to, “Be careful you may be next. Bang.” The letter said that, “If black lives matter, tell your kind (n------) to quit killing each other.”
“My paralegal opened up the mail this afternoon,” he said. “We usually get the mail about 2:30-3 p.m. and she said, ‘You got a mean letter.’
“A lot of times if I get a mean letter it could be like a person who’s in jail I’ve never heard of before who wants me to drive three hours to hear their case and they’re mad that I won’t visit them and provide my services for free,” Puryear said. “Their idea is to sue the police and we’ll all be millionaires later. That’s not how it works.”
But the letter that arrived at his office Wednesday ended with the word, “Bang,” which makes it more than just a racist rant; it makes it threatening.
“I’ve helped organize three protests, with the fourth scheduled for the 19th (of September),” he said. “I guess I could see it as an indication of success if the idiots are taking notice. I just don’t like it.”
Puryear said he is not anti-police, or anti-law.
“I don’t hate all police officers,” he said. “I have friends who are police.” He added that he has martial arts classes in which police he knows participate.
“I just want the brutality and the racism to stop,” Puryear said. “It’s that simple.”
Puryear, who has practiced in Davenport for 10 years, said he has submitted a report to the Davenport Police Department through the online reporting, and he has submitted the letter to the FBI’s threatening letter portal.
“This was not how I was expecting my afternoon to go,” he said, adding that in today’s world of social media there are many “racist idiots” who feel emboldened.
“I’ve just never had somebody send a letter," Puryear said, "where they threatened to harm me."
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendor.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gather.
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People gather at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf to protest and listen to speakers, June 13, 2020.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered on June 13 at Veterans Memorial Park, Bettendorf. The protest was to express concern about police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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What do people of color want from white allies? One of the readings from the Equity Challenge listed the following: "Respect us," "Find out about us," "Don't take over," "Listen to us" and "Don't assume you know what's best for me," among others. This is a scene from a Black Lives Matter demonstration in June in Bettendorf's Veterans Memorial Park.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.
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Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf and marched to Faye's Park, June 13, 2020. The protest was to express their concerns of the police brutality, systemic racism, and racially disproportionate arrests happening across the United States.