Protesters clogged the streets with their vehicles outside the Minnesota Capitol Saturday afternoon in protest of Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order.
Video of the event shows a swarm of vehicles lined up outside the Capitol, with passengers waving American flags and Trump flags from their car windows.
#OperationGridlock #Minnesota@AbbyMartin @GovJVentura @o_rips pic.twitter.com/m7JXOKqNvr
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“We’re here because we don’t think the governor has the authority to shut down the state. We think it’s wrong that he’s shutting down the state, killing the economy,” one protester told Breitbart News. “The history of America is one of defying and standing up to a tyrannical government and that’s why people are here today.”
Gov. Walz announced Thursday that he would be extending the state’s stay-at-home order for an additional two weeks, but with some minor modifications. The announcement marked the second extension of the stay-at-home order, which initially went into effect on March 27. The order was set to expire Monday, but now has been extended until May 18.
“You need to free up the state. You need to let people get back to work. You need to change this immediately,” another demonstrator said.
The Saturday protest was at least the second organized demonstration against Gov. Walz since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In April, President Donald Trump expressed his support for the hundreds of Minnesotans who gathered outside the Governor’s Residence to protest Walz.
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” the president wrote on Twitter. A few days later, the president said he “received a very nice call” from the governor and promised to get “him all he needs and fast.”
Republicans continue to voice their opposition to extending the stay-at-home order and have unsuccessfully attempted on three occasions to end the governor’s peacetime emergency.
House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) said the extension of the stay-at-home order “could be a devastating setback” for many small businesses “that they may not recover from.”
“Main Street businesses have been forced for weeks to remain closed while big box stores have been able to keep their doors open,” he said in a statement. “I hope the governor will move as quickly, and with as much advance notice as possible to help other businesses reopen their doors. Every day that goes by risks the permanent closure of businesses that are staples in our communities.”
As of Saturday, Minnesota had 6,228 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1,159 cumulative hospitalizations, and 395 deaths, the Department of Health said.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minnesota Protest” by Breitbart News.
