The Seattle Times newspaper says the participants of the rally did not comply with the rules of social distance.
The rally for the early lifting of the isolation regime’s requirements, introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic, gathered more than 2 thousand participants in the state capital of Olympia, Washington. This was reported on Monday by The Seattle Times.
Those who came to the capitol, the building where the governor’s office and the state legislature are located, did not observe the rules of social distance, the newspaper notes. Only some of the participants wore masks, someone brought the children. According to the newspaper, among the protesters were, first of all, supporters of the Republican Party. The participants of the event demanded the speedy lifting of restrictive measures and the partial opening of enterprises – dental clinics, construction companies, car sales centers.
The action was attended by three members of the Legislative Assembly of Washington from the Republican Party. Moreover, as the newspaper points out, one of them – Robert Sutherland, representing the Granite Falls constituency, one of the most affected in the state as a result of the epidemic – came to the rally with a gun and called for revolution. According to him, if the authorities take tough measures to ensure the implementation of restrictive measures, then “they will see what revolution is”. Some of the protesters also came with weapons not prohibited by law. However, the protest rally took place in a calm atmosphere; the police did not detain any of the participants.
Governor Jay Insley, commenting on the rally, said that he respects the right to freedom of speech, but such events will not affect his actions in the fight against coronavirus. According to him, in this case it is not talked about a political struggle, but about maintaining the health of all Washingtonians.
In the state of Washington, according to the local Department of Health, 634 coronavirus-infected died, 10 of them on Sunday. In total, about 12 thousand people were infected. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 2.3 million people have been infected with coronavirus in the world, about 160 thousand have died.