Conservatives Fuel Protests Against Coronavirus Lockdowns

AdvertisementSupported byIn addition to the “You Can’t Close America” rally in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, modest demonstrations took place in the capitals of Nevada, Indiana and Maryland.By Manny Fernandez and Nicholas Bogel-BurroughsAUSTIN, Texas — In a public act of defiance, more than 100 protesters in Texas converged on the steps of the Capitol building in Austin on Saturday to call for the reopening of the state and the country during the coronavirus pandemic.The “You Can’t Close America” rally rode a wave of similar protests at statehouses and in city streets this past week, with people also gathering on Saturday in Indianapolis; Carson City, Nev.; Annapolis, Md.; and Brookfield, Wis.With more than 22 million unemployment claims nationwide in the past four weeks, some conservatives have begun arguing for an immediate restarting of the economy. “We obviously know people are going to violate that but we can’t enforce that, just like the government can’t,” said Mr. Moutsos, who supports Mr. Trump.Among other protests on Saturday, organizers of a “ReOpen Maryland” event in Annapolis asked protesters to stay in their cars and to bring canned goods to donate to a local food shelter. He disrupted a House impeachment hearing in December by shouting that the Democrats were committing treason and that Mr. Trump was innocent.Mr. Shroyer told his Infowars audience this past week that the coronavirus was part of a scheme by the Chinese Communist Party and the “Deep State” to undermine Mr. Trump, that President Barack Obama “sold China the Wuhan virus” and that reports of overwhelmed hospitals were “propaganda.”One of the country’s first rallies in defiance of the coronavirus restrictions was on Monday in Columbus, Ohio, where scores of people shouted at the state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, through the doors of the statehouse.Melissa Ackison, a Republican candidate for State Senate and a supporter of Mr. Trump, said she was moved to join the protest after hearing from farmers about their devastating economic losses and seeing the severe limits on daily life.“It triggered in me something that I couldn’t stop,” Ms. Ackison said.Since then, modest groups of people have turned out to demonstrations, saying they are eager to get back to work. The largest of the protests, by far, was on Wednesday in Lansing, Mich., where thousands of people surrounded the Capitol in their cars in a campaign that organizers called “Operation Gridlock,” in protest of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order.On Friday, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Capitol in Boise, Idaho, to protest Gov. Brad Little’s stay-at-home order, holding signs that supported Mr. Trump and featured messages such as “My liberties are not yours to take.”At one point the group chanted, “We do not consent.”Manny Fernandez reported from Austin and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs from New York.