Over 200 protesters stood together for Black Lives Matter, peacefully protesting against inequality after the death of George Floyd outside Village Hall in Wellington on Tuesday.

A majority felt a lingering rage, upset about a comment Wellington mayor Anne Gerwig posted on Facebook last week regarding protests and the Mall at Wellington Green.

The caption read in part: “gathering during a pandemic, which could endanger everyone to protest something that happened very far away from here is not helpful at this time.”

This sparked outrage for residents like Rose Carbone.

“I was appalled at the insensitivity. This is why we’re out here, to help fight systemic racism and let people look at their own implicit bias,” she said.

“The Village of Wellington mayor said some pretty insensitive words,” said 19-year-old Weidmayer Pierre, one of the demonstration organizers.

Pierre said the mayor’s actions show she doesn’t want her residents to express support for a global movement.

“Now it’s her time as an elected official to come out and apologize to his family because that did go viral,” Pierre said. “Apologize to the 8,000 African American people who live in her own community.”

During the meeting, Pierre took the mic during public comments, asking for an apology.

The mayor responded right away, setting the record straight.

“My comments about not having the protests that was planned at the mall that night were not about peaceful protest,” Mayor Anne Gerwig said to Pierre. “They were about the protest that we were made aware of that was not peaceful. And certainly not yours.”