Morgan & Co. co-owner Stephen Butters said obscene gestures were made toward the restaurant after the conversation, and rally-goers seemed to make efforts to be louder and to direct noise toward the eatery.

“They were interfering with the operation of our restaurant,” Rebecca Butters said. “After we talked to them, they started harassing us.”

The conversation between Rebecca Butters and rally attendees resulted in one rally organizer coming onto the restaurant porch to talk to staff about the matter, which Butters said she found inappropriate.

A short time later, she said, she called Glens Falls City Attorney Ron Newell, who is her father and one of the owners of the three-story former mansion that houses the restaurant, to ask him to see what was going on.

Newell said he found the rally was “quite animated” and “seemed to be getting a little out of hand.” While he said he supports the protesters’ cause, it seemed they were going out of their way to squeal car tires and honk horns.

“People at the restaurant started to get nervous,” Newell said.