Protesters in Harrisburg rally against mask mandates, Wolf’s restrictions
By Pennlive.com
HARRISBURG — No more masks. No more restrictions.
And, they said, no more tyranny.
That was the rally cry of several hundred people who gathered Wednesday on the Capitol steps, calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to lift all coronavirus-related restrictions.
Organizers called the “Pennsylvania Assemble for Freedom” event a gathering “to call out the governor, and to demand to be set free from any and all restrictions and to return freedom of choice to ‘We the People.’”
And they filled the steps on the Capitol under the hot, summer sun to cheer on and rally around a host of speakers, who included lawmakers and small-business owners. Many wore red, white and blue and carried American flags. A few were armed. None wore masks.
And that was part of the message of the organizers.
“I haven’t worn a mask on my face a single time,” organizer Ernie Ney said, getting a huge round of applause. “If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you don’t, don’t. Our biggest and most important freedom is choice.”
He added, “This isn’t about wearing masks or not wearing masks. This isn’t about social distancing or not. This is about choice. I challenge each of you to take it and run with it and live to be free.”
They were protesting many of the restrictions from Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine during the pandemic, from the earlier closure of non-life-sustaining businesses to some of the ongoing restrictions, all of which today’s speakers called an overreach of the governor’s authority.
Some called it tyrannical, including one state representative who addressed the crowd.
“We have many people here that are with you, with me and with us in taking back our government from tyrant Tom Wolf,” said state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe.
Metcalfe added, while there was a big crowd, “these streets should be packed based on the harm Gov. Tom Wolf inflicted,” he said about the coronavirus restrictions, which Metcalfe noted “caused more harm than the virus from China.”
He called for the impeachment of Wolf, an effort that is still in the state House, he told the crowd, and encouraged them to reach out to their representatives in order to advance the measure.
State Sen. Mario Scavello took aim at Wolf’s withholding of federal relief funds from Lebanon County.
“Could you imagine our president denying dollars to Pennsylvania because we didn’t listen to him, like the governor has done to Lebanon County?” he asked. “They would have him up for impeachment, wouldn’t they? That’s exactly what’s happening in Pennsylvania right now.”
He added that he was a businessman, and he knows businesses cannot operate with these restrictions. The most recent restrictions further dialed back seating capacity at bars and restaurants to 25% in an effort to curb the coronavirus.
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