We urge the Select Board in the strongest possible terms to reject any effort—formal or informal—to restrict peaceful protest at the perimeter of the Lexington Battle Green, especially in front of the statue of Captain John Parker. Such a move would be a profound betrayal of the very spirit and legacy that Lexington holds dear.
To even consider limiting the right of assembly in this space, where American liberty was born, is deeply unsettling. The proposed concerns—tourist foot traffic, photography and minor walkway obstructions—pale in comparison to the foundational right at stake: the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. If we begin to prioritize postcard-perfect images and commercial convenience over civic engagement and constitutional liberty, we will have lost the very soul of this town.
Lexington has always stood as more than a historic site. It is a living symbol of resistance to tyranny. In 1775, local citizens risked their lives to ignite a revolution against autocratic rule. Are we now to tell today’s citizens that standing quietly with a sign in front of the statue that represents that moment is somehow too disruptive?
This is not hypothetical. On June 14, a one-hour peaceful demonstration is planned to protest the slow and deliberate dismantling of our democracy by a new American oligarchy. To suppress that expression—without violence—would be not only ironic, but morally indefensible. It would amount to silencing protest in the very space built for it.
Lexington has a rich and proud tradition of civic demonstration. From Vietnam and Iraq war standouts and civil rights demonstrations to weekly vigils for Israeli hostages, clergy prayer circles and organized marches through the center, this town has never flinched in the face of public expression. Why now?
What’s proposed here is not simply a policy change—it’s a fundamental shift in the character of Lexington. We must not allow bureaucratic overreach, whether from the police department or any other entity, to quietly reshape our rights through redefinitions and red tape.
The expansion of what qualifies as the “Battle Green” to limit protest space is not only legally questionable, it is politically corrosive. Pushing citizens off public sidewalks and into “designated protest zones” recalls authoritarian regimes, not democratic towns. If Tiananmen Square taught the world anything, it’s this: When a government decides that peaceful protest is too inconvenient for public display, it is already far too comfortable with suppressing dissent.
Let us be clear: no permit should be required for a few citizens to quietly express themselves for an hour in front of a statue that commemorates the defense of liberty. The issue at hand is not crowd control; it is constitutional principle.
At a time when our Commonwealth is under direct assault by federal actors using illegal and unconstitutional means, the last thing Lexington should be doing is restricting protest. We should be leading. We should be standing together. We should be proud to see our citizens gathered—peacefully, purposefully—in the very place where liberty began.
We call on the Select Board not only to reject this proposal, but to reaffirm Lexington’s commitment to First Amendment freedoms. We do not relegate 1775 to a museum. We live it. And we honor it by protecting the very rights our founders fought to establish—right here, in this town, on this ground.