On Saturday, Oct. 22, a day before hundreds of people paraded past his house on Knapton Street, Alan Sorrentino told Barrington police that his life had been threatened.

In a complaint filed with the police, Mr. Sorrentino said he had received phone calls from people who threatened to kill him. The threats stemmed from a letter Mr. Sorrentino wrote, titled "Please, women, put away those yoga pants." The letter stated, in part, "Not since the mini-skirt has there been something worn by so many women who should never have it on in the first place."

Yoga pants parade moves past Mr. Sorrentino's house. 

The letter yielded a loud outcry from women in town and far beyond, and also resulted in the harassing calls made to Mr. Sorrentino's phone. The calls were laden with swears.

"This is harassment…" Mr. Sorrentino wrote in an email on Saturday. "These women are disgusting bullies. If a bunch of men ever did this to a woman they'd be arrested. I've received death threats and vandalizing my home is being encouraged online..."

Barrington police allowed the parade to take place on Sunday afternoon, and, as of Monday afternoon, were continuing their investigation into the death threats. 

Barrington Police Chief John LaCross said the calls came from two different phones and appeared to have been made by local teenagers. Police traced the numbers and then called the teens — one of the alleged callers has since written a letter of apology to the department and another to Mr. Sorrentino.

"The apology letter may not be enough," said Chief LaCross, adding that the teenagers may be charged. 

"We're making progress" he said. "We will bring the information to the solicitor's office."

Chief LaCross said the teenagers need to understand the gravity of the situation and realize that it is not acceptable for them to make threatening phone calls.

Parade not called off

Mr. Sorrentino had requested that the police stop the yoga pants parade before it ever started. Mr. Sorrentino wrote prior to the event, "They're converging on my home to frighten and intimidate us. They're criminals."

A police official said that the department would not cancel the parade — "It's supposed to be a walk down the street.

"Our concern is for the safety of all those people on Knapton Street," he said.

Mr. Sorrentino had said during a recent interview on 630 WPRO that he had requested additional officers to be stationed near his home, but was told by police that if he wanted more security he would have to pay for it himself.

Barrington police brought in a number of additional officers to help with traffic control on Sunday. Chief LaCross said there were six officers at the parade — three who were regular on-duty officers and three more brought in early from their regular shift. 

"We paid a total of six hours of overtime," he said. 

Mr. Sorrentino also said that local police had suggested he leave his home before the event and return shortly thereafter. Chief LaCross said someone inside the home had voiced concerns about a potential problem once people started parading past the home. He said he suggested that if someone inside the home was going to have a problem, it may be best to leave the home before the parade started.

"It was just a thought," said Chief LaCross. 

The police chief said all the preparations seemed to pay off, as there were no reported problems during the event on Sunday.