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Brian Laundrie neighbors fed up with megaphone-using protesters, cops warn activists

'We hate them as much as we hate the Laundries now,' one homeowner told reporters of the constant stream of protesters

While the search for Brian Laundrie continues, onlookers who have been invested in the case have decidedly formed their own judgments on the presumed guilt of a “person of interest”. The disappearance and death of Gabby Petito and the police hunt for Laundrie have generated a whirlwind online. People have been gathering outside the Laundrie home in North Port, Florida, demanding justice.

As per reports, protesters outside Laundrie’s parents’ home were handed citations on Saturday, October 2, for being too loud. The small group reportedly used a speaker to address the parents of the 23-year-old who has been missing since September 14, after initially refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.

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“Come out here and answer America’s questions!” one of the half-dozen demonstrators camped out across the street from the Laundries’ North Port home said through the speaker. “The crowd is going to grow from here, Laundrie family, we’re not going to quit!” the man reportedly continued.

A short time later, two uniformed police officers spoke to the group. “You have to have a permit from the city in order to use a loudspeaker/PA system out here, especially when it pertains to a residential area,” one of the policemen reportedly told the group. He explained the citations would escalate if they persisted. “The first fine is $50, next one’s $150, and then it goes on to $500 for any third or subsequent offense.” Some of the protesters asked if they could get additional citations on the same day and the policeman reportedly said, “Yes. If you come back, it’s going to be another citation.”

Fox News reporter Michael Ruiz reported that neighbors of Laundrie are fed up with the protesters, some of whom have maintained a presence at the house for weeks. And it is likely that neighbors called policemen to stop the commotion. “We hate them as much as we hate the Laundries now,” one homeowner told Ruiz. Another neighbor told Ruiz that he was undergoing chemotherapy and that the ruckus was disrupting his wife’s work from home.

Fox News later reported that protesters moved from the home of Brian Laundrie's parents to the home of his sister. Cassie Laundrie reportedly saw her brother twice since he returned home to Florida on September 1. Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said, “Cassie saw her brother Brian on September 1 when he stopped by her home and again on September 6 at Fort De Soto Park. Law enforcement agencies are well aware of these dates.”

“Law enforcement agencies are well aware of these dates,” Bertolino said. “Any prior communication by Cassie that does not reflect these dates is simply a difference of relating an answer to a question misinterpreted by Cassie or poorly posed by the inquirer.”

Petito was reported missing on September 11, several days after she went incommunicado while on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. The two documented their travels on social media, and these posts have become the subject of intense examination by online sleuths who have speculated and theorized repeatedly on the case.