A fracas breaks out at a Human Rights Award ceremony.
No, that’s not the start of a cynical joke, it’s what happened when Joseph M. Coe was being inducted into the Rockland County Civil and Human Rights Hall of Fame for his LGBTQ activism on Feb. 12.
Jospeh M. Coe speaks at the Coe’s induction into the Rockland County Civil and Human Rights Hall of Fame for his LGBTQ activism on Feb. 12.
Coe’s induction at an event with Martin Luther King III and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, as speakers was revoked, according to a letter from the Rockland County Commission on Human Rights, due to Coe’s “behavior both during the induction ceremony, and following.”
But that decision was reversed Monday, LodHud reports, “after a weekend filled with animosity about it.”
Though the county’s letter rescinding the honor does not detail the “behavior” in question, News 12 reports that Coe’s acceptance speech went on for about 10 minutes after being given two minutes to speak, and that the emcee took the microphone from him.
“I’m not leaving unless I’m done,” Coe said as she approached, according to News12, which included video of the incident in its post.
He also called the event “a sham” before publicly apologizing for his role in the way events unfolded.
Coe is the youngest and first openly gay man inducted to the Hall of Fame, according to LoHud. He could not be reached for comment.
