Blue Line Moving CEO John Rourke is working to donate thousands of water filtration systems to the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, who are still recovering from the tragic train derailment that occurred in February 2023, releasing toxic chemicals into their environment.
“We want to support Palestinians but the ones from East Palestine, Ohio,” Rourke told Breitbart News, noting that he has secured 2,000 under-the-sink water filtration systems, ultimately hoping to deliver one for every home in East Palestine.
The father of four explained that he partnered with Sentry H20 to make this happen, meeting the Arizona-based water filtration company in East Palestine while delivering water.
“While I was there, I started talking to them about their water filtration system, and we started to put together a plan to put one of these water filtration systems in every single home in East Palestine,” he told One America News (OAN), explaining that both small businesses — Blue Line Moving and Sentry H20 — are putting themselves out there to help the people.
A Norfolk Southern freight train, which derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, is still on fire mid-day Saturday, February 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
“Actually, they’re spending their own money to do this, which is going to be roughly around $200,000 to produce the systems and get them delivered,” he said, explaining that they have reached out to the local government and hope to have a rally on the day of the October delivery to pass out the systems to residents.
“It’s ridiculous that the Biden administration, you know, shows up a year after the fact, and also, while they’re there, doesn’t do anything for those people. So American citizens need to stand up, and when they see something wrong, they need to do something about it,” Rourke said, adding that he is “tired of people not putting America first and Americans first.”
Indeed, it took President Joe Biden an entire year to visit East Palestine, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg only visited after former President Donald Trump did so.
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“You know, I delivered the water to East Palestine for President Trump a little over a year ago. And while I was there, it was just a surreal scene. … I just felt so terrible for those people that have to suffer through what they had to suffer through,” he continued, noting that he is “worried about Palestinians, but the Palestinians I’m worried about … are the Palestinians that live in East Palestine, not the Palestinians that live in a country I’ll never go to and most Americans will never go to.”
RELATED: Exclusive — John Rourke: East Palestine Residents Still Begging for Help as Biden Ignores Them
Rourke, who also founded the We Fund The Blue Foundation and the Great American Cleanup, the latter of which focuses on cleaning up border towns, added that it is ridiculous that the U.S. will send billions of dollars to other countries to fight endless wars when there are Americans who need help.
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