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Mar 07, 2021 06:51 PM EST
Around 100 people gathered outside Idaho s state Capitol in Boise in a Burn the Mask rally in order to make a statement against the COVID-19 restrictions, Saturday. In a statement by the Idaho State Police, the organizers had permits for the rally, thus no one was arrested. However, the rally is still under review due to the use of open fire during the event.
According to the police, the organizers and participants in the event were informed that open flames were prohibited on the State Capitol Grounds yet they still ignited one inside a barrel during the rally. Footage and photos of the event showed that there were children present and some even participated in the burning of masks.
Anti-maskers encourage kids to burn face coverings at Idaho Capitol
Kim Bellware, The Washington Post
March 7, 2021
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BOISE, ID - MARCH 06: Young attendees toss surgical masks into a fire during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse on March 6, 2021 in Boise, Idaho. Citizens and politicians, including the Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, gathered in at least 20 cities across the state to protest COVID-19 restrictions.Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Cheering parents watched as children tossed surgical masks into a fire outside the Idaho Capitol in Boise on Saturday as more than 100 people gathered to protest mask mandates as an affront to their civil liberties.
| Updated March 9, 2021
Anti-maskers in Idaho held a public burning ceremony on Saturday and had their kids join in by tossing their own personal protective equipment into the flames.
The Washington Post estimated that some 100 people gathered outside the state’s Capitol in Boise for the mask burning.
“Here fire, you hungry?” a child asked in one of the videos circulating on Twitter. “Here’s another mask.”
Idaho does not have a statewide mask mandate for the coronavirus pandemic, but some communities within the state have put mandates into place and Gov. Brad Little (R) has encouraged people to wear them. He tweeted in support of masks just last week:
Mask burnings in Idaho are latest protest against COVID-19 restrictions
Updated Mar 09, 2021;
By Richard Read, Los Angeles Times
Parents encouraging kids to burn masks on Idaho Capitol steps pic.twitter.com/VOYfOYqwwt Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) March 6, 2021
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho More than a year into a pandemic that has claimed 523,000 lives in the United States, right-wing protesters in Idaho, including a handful of elected officials, set protective masks aflame, claiming face coverings stifle their personal liberties.
Although local, state and federal health officials are clear that masks are crucial in the fight against COVID-19, helping to prevent the disease from spreading, 70 adults and children none wearing face coverings stepped forward on a downtown street corner in Coeur d’Alene and dropped masks into a symbolic burn pot containing dry ice. “U.S.A, U.S.A,” they chanted.
Elected Idaho leaders join activists in burning masks as protest tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.