JD Vance’s neighbors have slammed the vice presidential candidate after the Secret Service closed and barricades a park near his home in Alexandria, Virginia.
The city announced that it would be closing the Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park on Sunday and an adjacent block would be restricted to residents only after the Secret Service ramped up measures for Donald Trump’s running mate.
“Beginning Sunday, August 25, and in response to a request from the United States Secret Service (USSS), the Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park, located at 1 & 7 E. Del Ray Ave., will be temporarily closed until further notice,” a city notice read, reported the local news website ALXnow.
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But the move sparked a backlash in comments posted on social media and on ALXnow.com.
“I am all for protecting people, but if that park is such a danger, he should probably move,” wrote someone who identified themself as Thomas Blackwood on ALXnow. “The park belongs to the city and the people of Alexandria not his protection staff. And to be perfectly honest, a true Republican would not want the government infringing on other people’s rights.”
Another commentator added that the park belongs to the residents of Alexandria, therefore, “they should be able to freely use the City resources regardless who lives adjacent to the park. Let the Secret Service figure it out. What happens if some other high level protectee move in adjacent to some other park?”
Another commentator on ALXnow attempted to add some levity to the situation. “Oh for goodness sakes. Enough. The man is running for VP of the United States. No matter your political affiliation you should be proud your neighbor is willing to run for office,” they wrote. “Shame on you for being so ugly.”
In a post on X, business leader Michael Brown, former executive director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Office, said that he lived on “this [Vance’s] block” and knew the woman the park was named after.
“Judy Lowe was a friend and a Democratic activist,” Brown wrote on X. “Weirdly, Vance moved to the heart of this socially progressive neighborhood next door to a park named for Judy. She believed in everything he opposes.”
