US President Donald Trump tells protestors to ‘liberate’ three Democratic-run states with stay-at-home orders.
While many Americans are filled with fear, Melissa Ackison says the coronavirus pandemic has filled her with anger. The stay-at-home orders are government overreach, the conservative Ohio state Senate candidate says, and the labeling of some workers as “essential” arbitrary.
“It enrages something inside of you,” said Ackison, who was among those who protested Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s orders at the statehouse in Columbus with her 10-year-old son. She has “no fear whatsoever” of contracting the virus, she said Thursday, dismissing it as hype.
The Ohio protest was among a growing number staged outside governors’ mansions and state Capitols across the country. In places like Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, small-government groups, supporters of President Donald Trump, anti-vaccine advocates, gun rights backers and supporters of right-wing causes have united behind a deep suspicion of efforts to shut down daily life to slow the spread of coronavirus. As their frustration with life under lockdown grows, they’ve started to openly defy the social distancing rules in an effort to put pressure on governors to ease them.
The signs of frustration come as Trump has pushed for easing stay-at-home orders and tried to look ahead to restarting the economy. He unveiled a framework for governors to follow on Thursday, but acknowledged the governors will have the final say on when their state is ready. Health experts have warned that lifting restrictions too quickly could result in a surge of new cases of the virus.
But the president and some of his supporters are impatient. Thousands of people in their cars packed the streets of Lansing to protest Democratic Govenor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order and other restrictions.
Asked about the protesters, Trump on Thursday expressed sympathy with their frustration — “They’re suffering … they want to get back” — and dismissed concerns about the health risks of ignoring state orders and potentially exposing themselves to the virus.
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-18/coronavirus-australia-live-updates-covid19-latest-news/12160446
For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
You can watch more ABC News content on iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1
Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://ab.co/1svxLVE
Go deeper on our ABC News In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
You can also like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au
Or follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au
Or even on Twitter: http://twitter.com/abcnews
