To the Editor:Newtown's letter calling on President Trump to disavow Alex Jones it seems appropriate that a joint news conference with as many of you as possible should be held very soon to highlight this issue.

Thank you for sharing this open letter to Honorable First Selectman Pat Llodra of Newtown, Honorable Representative Elizabeth Esty, Honorable Governor Dannel Malloy, Honorable Senator Chris Murphy, Honorable Senator Richard Blumenthal:

In light of

The President's alignment with Alex Jones is a betrayal of Newtown, the state of Connecticut, and the entire country. This week Trump has only moved closer to Jones. The lie to which Trump clings - that 3.5 million "illegals" voted in the election - comes from Jones' Info Wars web site.

The President has ignored previous calls to disavow Jones.

Newtown's letter, while admirable, will have no effect by itself.

It is therefore imperative that all of you, with us, publicly denounce both the President's intransigence and his tacit endorsement of Jones's hateful lies regarding Newtown. This must be done in a prominent manner engaging maximum media coverage.

While this step might compel a positive response from Trump, that is no longer even the point. This is a moral imperative that must be acted upon. The fact that Trump will likely ignore it is exactly why it must be amplified to the maximum.

Trump's silence so far, coupled with his position as President, makes him by default the preeminent endorser of deluded hate-mongers who verbally attack and incite hatred against our town, the bereaved parents, our local police, the state medical examiner, the state police, and many more. In their ignorant zeal and demented thinking these haters willfully slander our friends who have already suffered unbearable loss.

This will not stand.

Some may say that "they are not many. They are just fringe. Let's ignore them." Yet hateful videos with hundreds of thousands of views (and counting) remain up on YouTube (and more daily) and it appears that one need look no further than the Oval Office to find an example of this deranged type of thinking.

Does the President truly understand what happened here in Newtown? It is not at all clear that he does and it is time for him to clarify.

I hope you agree with my suggestion that a prominent news conference should be held very soon.

Please advise as to scheduling, coordination, and location. If you do not agree, please advise why.

Thank you.

Jim Allyn

Main Street, Newtown         January 26, 2017