“Destroy them!” Anti-maskers encourage kids to burn their face coverings on the Capitol steps in Idaho
By Kim Bellware
7 March 2021
(The Washington Post) – 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.
The rally was one of several held statewide in opposition to the coronavirus-related requirements, which health experts have said remain crucial even as vaccines are distributed and the number of new reported cases has dropped.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) has never implemented a statewide mask requirement, though nearly a dozen areas of the state have local restrictions, including Boise. For months, Little has been at odds with Lt. Gov Janice McGeachin (R) over pandemic restrictions (in Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor run on separate tickets). McGeachin vehemently opposes any mask mandates.
McGeachin, who appeared in a video last fall that suggested the pandemic “may or may not be occurring,” was photographed speaking at the Boise protest Saturday.
In a video from the scene captured by Oregon Public Media reporter Sergio Olmos, half a dozen children are seen grabbing handfuls of blue surgical masks and dropping them into the fire as adults are heard warning them not to go too fast.
In the video, a boy is heard shouting, “Destroy them!” [more]
Anti-maskers encouraged kids to burn their face coverings on the Capitol steps in Idaho
“Destroy Them!” Children Burn Face Masks on Steps of Idaho Capitol in Anti-Mask Rally
By Benjamin Fearnow
6 March 2021
(Newsweek) – Dozens of parents encouraged young children to burn masks on the steps of the Idaho state Capitol building Saturday morning in the latest “anti-masker” protest against pandemic facial coverings.
Saturday’s “#FreeIdaho” mask burning event comes after Republican lawmakers in the state’s House of Representatives narrowly passed legislation that would make any future mask mandates illegal. Adults at the rally in Boise could be heard instructing kids how to toss hundreds of masks into a trash can fire. “Destroy them!” one enthusiastic adult could be heard yelling as smiling children burned the masks inside the flaming trash can. “Not too fast, kids, be careful, watch the fire.”
The issue of statewide mask mandates angered many GOP lawmakers across the country, but Idaho legislators were so incensed by the idea that they voted last month to prevent any level of government from taking such action again.
Saturday’s March 6 mask burning protest in Boise was organized by the Free Idaho group that also put together simultaneous “burn sites” in the towns of Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry, Laclede, Coeur d’Alene, St. Maries, Plummer and Tensed.
“Not all at once,” one adult voice could be heard advising as the children tossed dozens of blue and white masks into the metal trash can, according to video shared on Twitter by Sergio Olmos of Oregon Public Broadcasting. “OK, that’s enough for right now. Just watch and let them burn.”
Multiple cheering adults could be seen helping kids grab the masks in order to toss them into the fire. American flags were waved by several older attendees, including at least two in wheelchairs. This is not the first “anti-masker” rally in the state. Last August, a mask-burning barbecue event was held near the Panhandle Health District building in Hayden.
“Join us for a MASK BURNING BBQ at Panhandle Health this Tuesday August 18 @ 11 am. Please bring any sides, chips, buns and anything you would like to grill (masks included),” read last year’s invitation, as circulated by the North Idaho Exposed YouTube channel. [more]
‘Destroy Them!’ Children Burn Face Masks on Steps of Idaho Capitol in Anti-Mask Rally
