Pro-gun rally planned to support Rostraver police officer
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ROSTRAVER – Supporters of a Rostraver Township police officer who is under scrutiny for taking an assault-style rifle to counterprotest a March for Our Lives event are planning a pro-gun rally in his honor at Westmoreland County Courthouse.
Brett Seroka said he decided to organize the April 22 rally because officer Martin Palla “is under fire for peacefully protesting and (exercising) his right to open carry.”
“With all of the anti-gun protests, we need to have our own march and protest to protect our rights and speak our opinions,” said Seroka, of Washington Township, Fayette County.
Rostraver police Chief Greg Resetar said this week Palla is under a department inquiry after he was photographed with an AR-15 strapped across his torso March 23 across the street from the anti-gun rally at Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg.
Resetar said township officials were reviewing the incident to determine whether Palla violated the terms of his union contract or civil service rules by taking the rifle to the event.
The photograph of Palla went viral across social media platforms, resulting in the police department being flooded with complaints about the officer giving the appearance he was bullying children at the rally.
Palla declined to comment on the investigation.
Seroka said his post on Facebook about the rally has received a lot of attention. More than 120 users indicated on the post by Friday they planned to attend, and another 8,256 people said they were interested in the rally.
Seroka said he felt sorry for Palla because he was “being publicy shamed and bashed for exercising his First and Second Amendments rights.”
He said he and Palla are not friends, although the officer is aware of the pro-gun rally. Palla won’t attend the event.
“I don’t want to drag him through more than what is going on. He’s not part of it,” Seroka said.
“I have heard no opposition,” he added.
He said those who plan to attend the rally need to have a concealed-carry gun permit to bring a weapon from their homes to Greensburg that day.
Seroka said he applied to Westmoreland County for a permit to hold the rally from 3 to 7 p.m. at the courthouse at 2 N. Main St.