A clarification. The two scuffles mentioned involved the same man. The guy whose horrible sign was torn down was the same one, who a few minutes later, had his bullhorn smashed by the biker Santas. This guy had no place at the protest. I just hope no one associated him with the Freepers.
The town's excuses don't cut it. The two complaining Jewish families would, as I understand it, have been satisfied if a menorah had been added to the display. The town pretended there was some legal problem in acceding to that demand, but there's a recent Supreme Court decision holding that adding a menorah to this kind of display is legal. I'm fairly sure the town was just seizing an opportunity to make Christmas less Christmasy.
By the way, did anybody notice how the American Taliban John Walker, a.k.a. Abdul Hamid, grew up in or just outside Kensington? This morning's Washington Post reports a neighbor saying Walker was "a normal, fun-loving boy who attended Kensington-Parkwood Elementary School in Montgomery County."