Boise: A woman anti-vaccine activist in Idaho was arrested after she repeatedly refused police orders to leave a playground amid coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Sara Brady was arrested in Gov. Brad Little's extension of the statewide stay-at-home order. She along with her children at the playground in Meridian when the police warned her to leave the place.
A video posted a few days back in social media by another person at the playground shows officers repeatedly asking Brady to leave and trying to make her understand about the particular play structure had been closed under the lockdown order from the mayor.
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🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Rogan O’Handley 🇺🇸 (@DC_Draino) April 22, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Mother arrested in Meridian, Idaho for letting kids play in park
This has gotten out of control
Stop arresting free Americans for being outside with their families
RT!! pic.twitter.com/TUsbgat0D2
">🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Rogan O’Handley 🇺🇸 (@DC_Draino) April 22, 2020
Mother arrested in Meridian, Idaho for letting kids play in park
This has gotten out of control
Stop arresting free Americans for being outside with their families
RT!! pic.twitter.com/TUsbgat0D2🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Rogan O’Handley 🇺🇸 (@DC_Draino) April 22, 2020
Mother arrested in Meridian, Idaho for letting kids play in park
This has gotten out of control
Stop arresting free Americans for being outside with their families
RT!! pic.twitter.com/TUsbgat0D2
In that video, police were asking Brady and the rest of the people to continue playing on the grassy areas of the park.
- — Brad Bigford, NP (@mursebigford) April 22, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
— Brad Bigford, NP (@mursebigford) April 22, 2020
">— Brad Bigford, NP (@mursebigford) April 22, 2020
“Arrest me for being in the park. Do it,” she retorted the officer, repeatedly refusing to leave.
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Besides, she told another protester to continue recording as she was handcuffed.
Later, police arrested and took her to the Ada County Jail. She was charged with misdemeanor trespassing on a closed playground. She posted a USD 300 bond later.
Brady and others gathered later that day in front of Meridian City Hall to protest.
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“I wasn’t the only person standing in the park. I definitely wasn’t playing on the playground equipment. I wasn’t swinging, never touched them. But yeah, I do feel like I was singled out and maybe it was because I asked too many questions,” she told Boise television station KBOI.
There has been a growing number of protests in Idaho and elsewhere over stay-at-home orders.
Gov. little has extended the order till the end of April, saying the move is necessary to continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus and hasten the state's overall recovery.
The move was met with derision by some members of the far-right in Idaho and some libertarian, gun-rights and anti-vaccine organizations began directing members to defy the order. Most at the Boise protest were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and not wearing face masks.
Some carried signs claiming the coronavirus is a hoax, while others held signs with slogans like, "All workers are essential" and "Freedom not fear."
Similar protests have been held across the US, with groups pushing back against stay-at-home orders in places like Michigan, Texas and Virginia. Dozens circled Oregon's state Capitol in their vehicles to protest that state's stay-at-home order.
Gov. Little said some businesses that were previously considered non-essential, like flowers, jewelry and other retail shops, can re-open as long as they can offer curbside service and ensure social distancing.
Some top state GOP lawmakers have been pressing Little to hand control of the coronavirus response to local officials.
According to a Johns Hopkins University tally, Idaho has 1,609 people with confirmed COVID-19 and 41 residents have died from the illness so far.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
