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As sweeping stay-at-home restrictions in 42 U.S. states to combat the new coronavirus have shuttered businesses, disrupted lives and decimated the economy, states including Utah, North Carolina and Ohio saw demonstrations this week, and more are planned for the coming days, including in Oregon, Idaho and Texas.
The protests have taken on a partisan tone, often featuring supporters of President Donald Trump, and critiquing governors for their shelter-at-home directives to slow the spread of a pandemic that has killed more than 31,000 across the country.
Hundreds of protestors march outside the Kentucky State Capitol to rally against current social distancing rules and business closures ordered by Governor Andy Beshear in Frankfort, Kentucky, April 15, 2020. /Reuters
A few dozen protesters, many with young children, gathered in Virginia's state capital of Richmond on Thursday in defiance of Democratic Governor Ralph Northam's mandate, the latest in a series of demonstrations this week around the country.
On Wednesday, thousands of Michigan residents blocked traffic in Lansing, the state capital, while protesters in Kentucky disrupted Democratic Governor Andy Beshear's afternoon news briefing on the pandemic, chanting "We want to work!"
Two men hold a flag and a placard while standing on a car in the middle of a road, as hundreds of supporters of the Michigan Conservative Coalition protest against the state's extended stay-at-home order at the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, April 15, 2020. /Reuters
The United States has seen the highest death toll of any country worldwide in the pandemic, and public health officials have warned that a premature easing of social distancing orders could exacerbate it.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to "reopen" the economy as soon as possible and has clashed with governors over whether he can overrule their stay-at-home orders.
In Michigan, where Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has imposed some of the country's toughest limits on travel and business, some protesters at "Operation Gridlock" wore campaign hats and waved signs supporting Trump.
Kentucky Republican State Representative Savannah Maddox (front R) joins protesters outside of the Kentucky State Capitol to rally against current social distancing requirements and business closures ordered by Governor Andy Beshear in Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S.. /Reuters
One of the organizers of the demonstration in Lansing, Meshawn Maddock, said she was frustrated that much of the media focused on a handful of protesters who gathered on the steps of the capitol, including militia group members and a man holding a Confederate flag who she said were not part of the rally.
She faulted Whitmer for dismissing the event as a partisan rally instead of engaging with the thousands of residents who Maddock said have legitimate questions about the governor's stay-at-home order.
"When I'm fighting to (help) a guy who cleans pools or mows lawns, or a women who wants to sell her onion sets or geraniums, I don't care whether they vote Republican, Democrat, or never vote at all," Maddock said.
Maddock, 52, is among seven board members of the Republican-aligned Michigan Conservative Coalition who organized the protest. She is also a board member of the pro-Trump political action committee Women for Trump, but said the Trump campaign had no involvement in organizing the protest.
Source(s): Reuters
