JD Vance’s neighbors outraged after Secret Service closes Judy Lowe Park in Ohio

JD Vance’s neighbors have sharply criticized the vice presidential candidate after the Secret Service closed and cordoned off a park near his home in Alexandria, Virginia.

The city announced it would close Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park on Sunday and make an adjacent block accessible only to residents after the Secret Service tightened measures for Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate.

“Effective Sunday, August 25, and in response to a request from the United States Secret Service (USSS), Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park, located at 1 & 7 E. Del Ray Ave., will be temporarily closed until further notice,” said a city statement, according to local news website ALXnow.

However, the move sparked a backlash in social media comments and on ALXnow.com.

“I’m all for keeping people safe, but if this park is such a danger, it should probably move,” wrote someone who identified themselves as Thomas Blackwood on ALXnow. “The park belongs to the city and people of Alexandria, not its security personnel. And to be perfectly honest, a true Republican wouldn’t want the government to violate other people’s rights.”

Another commenter added that the park belongs to the residents of Alexandria, so “they should be able to freely use the city’s resources regardless of who lives next to the park. That’s for the Secret Service to sort out. What happens if another highly protected person lives next to another park?”

Another commenter on ALXnow tried to make light of the situation. “Oh, for goodness sake. That’s enough. The man is running for Vice President of the United States. No matter your political affiliation, you should be proud that your neighbor is willing to run for office,” he 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, said he lives on “that (Vance’s) block” and knows the woman the park was named after.

“Judy Lowe was a friend and a Democratic activist,” Brown wrote on X. “Oddly enough, Vance moved into the heart of this socially progressive neighborhood, right next to a park named after Judy. She believed in everything he opposed.”