Hundreds rally at Idaho Capitol to protest Gov. Little’s stay-home order
Several hundred protesters showed up at the Idaho Capitol on Friday afternoon waving flags and signs while protesting — and proudly violating — Gov. Brad Little’s stay-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Disobey Idaho protest, hosted by three conservative groups — the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and Health Freedom Idaho — advocated for reopening the state for regular business and featured Rep. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, as emcee. Among the other speakers were Republican Reps. Chad Christensen and Christy Zito, and a few business owners.
“All they’re (Idahoans) being told is you can’t do this, and that’s not how it works,” Nichols said.
Holding signs that read “my liberties are not yours to take” and “freedom is essential,” among other things, the crowd chanted “we do not consent.”
Attendees were “encouraged to follow social distancing procedures,” according to a press release from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, but most didn’t. The crowd gathered closely and engaged with a few counterprotesters; many were not wearing masks, but were carrying guns.
Jonathan Eldredge, the owner of Middleton Fitness Center, addressed the crowd and said he would violate the governor’s order by opening up his gym Monday.
“Each of us have a right and have a freedom to do what we want. We need to take the action and take the steps to prove that there is validity to what we are saying,” Eldredge said. “I am opening my business on Monday and I challenge every business owner to do the same.”
Christensen said businesses are dying and cited a decrease of crop sales in his district eastern Idaho district. He quoted Benjamin Franklin, saying, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Speaker Ryan Jenks, a Nampa attorney who owns Brighter Future Health, said he has not seen his grandmother in a few weeks as the coronavirus outbreak in Idaho has occurred.
“Now the fact is that we can protect those people without giving up our rights,” Jenks said. “Today, I lay awake at night these days concerned about an illegal and unconstitutional government and what it has on my employees’ lives.”
After the speeches, some of the crowd marched down Capitol Boulevard toward downtown Boise. Before the event, the Boise Police Department said that it would monitor the rally. The Statesman has reached out to BPD to see whether any citations were issued.
Jaqueline Pierce, a mom and small-business owner, brought her husband and children to the protest.
“We aren’t saying that coronavirus is not a real thing, but the fact that it doesn’t eliminate everyone’s freedoms and justify a whole statewide lockdown,” Pierce said. “And obviously the freedom to meet for religious congregation, people’s businesses, and this is a ripple effect for who is deemed essential and nonessential.”
Pierce said that Americans should be free to choose how much to risk when they go out.
“Every day when we leave our house we are at risk, car accidents, fires, viruses, germs, and that is why we have immune systems that are created to fight those things,” Pierce said.
The groups on hand Friday promised that rallies would continue. Little’s stay-home order runs through April 29.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
